As 2019 draws to an end there is still plenty of to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots which changed the landscape for the LGBTQ community for ever,
In California at the Palm Springs Art Museum their exhibit ‘TOUCHING HISTORY: STONEWALL 50 that commemorates the event ,will be on view until March 29 2020. Curated by DAVID EVANS FRANTZ it brings together an intergenerational group of eight contemporary artists working in collage, drawing, and photography, this exhibition explores queer kinship, care, and community through the immediacy and intimacy of touch.
In the Exhibit introduction FranTz writes ‘The ease and freedom with which many queer people today show affection is one aspect of the numerous social changes provoked by LGBTQ activists of the 1970s. For many, this is a part of daily life that we now take for granted. The artists in Touching History mine historical materials and collaborate with queer elders to examine the continued relevance of activist legacies and community organizing. By focusing on the powerful, affirming, and unruly sensation of touch, these artists honor the struggles and tenacity of the queer community.
One of this very diverse group of eight is disabled queer artist and activist Robert Andy Coombs. Self-described as, “Ballsy, charming, devastatingly handsome, homosexual, yooper, disabled, artist, activist,” He is currently working towards his Masters in Fine Art Photography at Yale University.
Coombs told Advocate “I am just glad that I can get the topic of disability and sexuality out to the masses, and more specifically, to have the opportunity to show that there are disabled queers out here. We need to be recognized and included within the queer community, because current queer spaces are inaccessible and unwelcoming to us!”
Touching History: Stonewall 50 also includes work from Marcela Pardo Ariza, Stephen Barker, Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre, Jonathan Molina-Garcia, Kang Seung Lee, and Joey Terrill.
https://www.psmuseum.org/visit/psam
Until March 29, 2020