This upcoming Apr. 27, 2022, EMU will have the first LGBTQ+ Gallery in the history of the institution. Graduate student Conner Suddick who is part of the small group looking to bring this gallery to life talked about the inspiration behind it, and the process of it all.
While looking back at the archives of EMU for more information on LGBTQ+ people and allies, Suddick found a lot of resources regarding LGBTQ+ history at EMU. This was a story dying to be told, so with the help of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Jackie Font-Guzman, to make a grant for this project.
The gallery is coming to life with the help of 8 creative faculty and students at EMU who either identify as LGBTQ+ people or allies. The members are engaging with a task called “photovoice”, where they are given a prompt, and they respond with an artistic representation using poems, music, sculptures, collages, and creative writing.
Suddick also added how these creative members are then able to come back and discuss their creations. “The critical dialogue helps to inspire a caption or a description.”
The gallery will take place at Sadie Hartzler Library where people included in the project will display their art for all of the EMU community to see.
Suddick also mentioned how the art for the gallery will essentially have three major themes. One of the themes is legacy: looking at what kind of stories are hidden here at EMU. The second theme is Whiteness and Race on campus, because race is something important at EMU. The third theme will be Next Steps: what are the next steps for enacting a sense of belonging at EMU.
Junior Veronica Horst, who is part of the group of people bringing this gallery to life, mentioned how this will bring changes in progress for EMU. Horst said, “Our artwork speaks to a lot of stories and experiences at EMU that will hopefully be heard and taken to heart. EMU has a long way to go in terms of being a truly inclusive and safe space for LGBTQ+ individuals. We acknowledge this through some of our art, so I hope it helps the administration realize how necessary change is. If other students, faculty, and staff can see their experiences in our art, I think that will also inspire more movement towards change.”
When talking about the hopes for this project, Suddick said, “My hope is that this project is done in different generations and engages many people in this process of using art as a means to understand what is going around us.”
Horst also added, “EMU should be ready and willing to hear and hold vulnerable stories of Queer past and present on our campus. It would mean a lot to us to know that our stories are being acknowledged so that future students, faculty, and staff can have more positive experiences here.”
