Family Room
form & concept | January 2021
This functional and modular living room features art, craft and design objects that were made, altered or found by a national consortium of LGBTQ+ artists. It is a stage for visual artworks and performances that examine queer domestic space and the chosen family.
Following the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising, Family Room situates never-before-exhibited work by contemporary artists alongside personal artifacts of queer love and connection, including written correspondence between an artist and a queer inmate on death row, functional furniture culled from an artist’s home, and handmade books and zines, as well as site-specific and commissioned performances by New Mexico-based ensembles Saints Ball and Santa Fe Playhouse.
Asked to explore the necessity of queer chosen family, over two dozen emerging and established artists responded with objects of survival and solace. In this immersive installation, the deeply personal and insular hardships and triumphs of the queer community are represented collectively, from the clever and celebratory, such as C. Alex Clark’s throw pillows emblazoned with quotes by queer writers, to the contemplative and conceptual, such as c marquez’s interactive wall installation composed of imperfect tumble mustard plant stalks meant to wear down and change under the weight of visitors’ hands. Also included is digitally-drawn wallpaper that traces the branches and buds of a family tree by Ravenna Osgood, and a hand-quilted blanket that figuratively and literally supports its wearer with a fiber spine by Eli Smith.
“This show was supposed to open last June, and we postponed when the pandemic hit in March,” says Director Jordan Eddy. “The extra time expanded the artist list and shifted the show’s themes in surprising ways. There are conceptual threads about sanctuary, solitude and reconnecting with nature that didn’t exist before.” Indeed, the ambitious yet cozy exhibition is particularly poignant during a time of global isolation in which many queer people have been separated from their chosen families and communities. At its core, Family Room is in many ways epitomized by the visitor’s entry point: a woven rug by Erika Diamond, known for her series of bulletproof vests made in response to the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, adorned with the word “HOME.”
Programs
This exhibition was activated by four programs that explored themes of queer community and love, each tailored to Covid-19 safety protocols. Santa Fe Playhouse collaborated with form & concept to present “Tongues,” a two-actor scene from Steve Yockey’s Reykjavík, to limited audiences. The performance collective TIME BEINGS and Niomi “Moss” Fawn offered spontaneous spellcraft via a virtual hotline from inside the show.
Albuquerque drag collective Saints Ball performed on an exterior balcony just outside the exhibition for a crowd on the sidewalk below. Dutch-Canadian artist Doreen Wittenbols performed a virtual napkin toss, a time-honored queer tradition that started in New Orleans and has since made its way to the nightclubs of Amsterdam.
My contributions: Curatorial
Artwork, Objects & Performances: Tami Abts, Tigre Mashaal-Lively, Nikesha Breeze, C. Alex Clark, Adrian Coffey, sheri crider, Andrea Deléon, Erika Diamond, Tilke Elkins, Pascal Emmer, Kyle Farrell, Niomi “Moss” Fawn, Timothy Jones, Alex Krales, c marquez, Nate Masse, Earl Mcbride, Jacks McNamara, Katie Morales, JQ Nightshade, Ravenna Osgood, Santa Fe Playhouse, Jenn Shapland, Eli Smith, Martín Wannman, Chelsea Weathers, Obie Weathers, Doreen Wittenbols, Anastasio Wrobel, and Saints Ball: Allison Saint, Jotoantics, Kuwani, Liviana, Nadia Bizness, The Wych Heishii
Photography: Byron Flesher
Marketing Writing: Marissa Fassano