We love the fact that QUEERGURU reaches so many corners of the globe these days, and one of our very favorite spots is County Mayo, on the West Coast of Ireland. There in the Ballina Arts Centre, they have ‘I Am What I Am’ ‘ a queer art exhibition that is a nuanced celebration of queer artists who work with gender, sexuality, identity and queer politics.

If you recognize the title of the Exhibit then you’ll know it’s from Jerry Herman’s ‘gay anthem’  from his Tony Award-winning show Broadway show La Cage Aux Folles.  It’s a song that the LGBTQ+ community holds dear in the form of resistance against adversity in an ever-evolving and dissolving world.

Curator Sinead Keogh has brought together artists from all backgrounds to unite in a diverse exploration of queer art in Ireland today. The fact that the project is an initiative of Mayo County Council in partnership with the Arts Council of Ireland  (and with support from Creative Ireland) should be applauded as too often queer exhibits usually never ever get beyond major metropolitan cities.

One of the video installations is THREE GENERATIONS OF QUEERS by Bernie Masterson, This is a documentary about the complex nature of identity and covers the span of three generations, each dealing with a combination of identities.

 

THE EXHIBIT RUNS UNTIL JULY 31ST

To view the 'I Am What I Am' catalog which details the program in its entirety, 
 https://files.cargocollective.com/471261/IAWIA-CATALOGUE-high-res-.pdf

To access the audio tour for this exhibition program, 
https://soundcloud.com/sinead-keogh-1/audio-tour-i-am-what-i-am