Nothing New Exhibition – Queerly Complex

Curatorial Statement
Immigrants and Queers have been, are, and will always be here. There is no past nor future without us. We exist because people move by force, necessity, and (sometimes) choice, and sexuality / gender are complex (not binary), regardless of what dominant society legislates or social norms dictate. Our positionality to domination affirms our struggles are linked. We are comrades, and this is NOTHING NEW.
Frequently, in times of political upheaval, art, stories, songs, dances, rituals, and traditions become targets of erasure. It is a form of censorial annihilation meant to ensure future generations know little to nothing about their forebears. For if even a breadcrumb were to remain, our descendants will have the tools to liberate their beings from domination. This, too, is NOTHING NEW.
Right here, right now we – Immigrant and / or Queer Artists – are under direct political attack. Co-creating tactics and ways to gather, preserve, and promulgate our art, stories, songs, dances, and rituals is a means of survival, organizing, and resistance. It is a tradition we have always done for gathering our people together around the fire to talk story is NOTHING NEW.
NOTHING NEW is an Installation & Art Catalog curated by Bushra Gill & Jason Wyman / Queerly Complex celebrating over 60 Immigrant and / or Queer artists of diverse cultures, traditions, practices, disciplines, generations, and origins.
The inaugural Installation will be held at the new 465 Collective Space (465 S. Van Ness, SF), located in the landmark Femina Potens art gallery and performance space, which was dedicated to showcasing work by women and trans artists and operated from 2002 to 2007. It will also include a pop-up shop by SF Artists for Palestine with all proceeds going directly to Palestinians impacted by the genocide.
Physical and digital catalogs of the Installation will be archived in places like the Internet Archive, zine archives, and cultural, public, or educational institutions as a means of ensuring records of Immigrant and / or Queer Artists coming together in times of political attack survive for future generations to find. The Catalog and Installation includes a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Noderivatives 4.0 Deed, meaning others are free to print and install the digital prints as is within the catalog for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution, which is included in the catalog. Additionally, the digital catalogs are formatted in letter size to ensure easy printing and installation of the works in other localities.
CURATORS


Featuring
Abdul Wasay ✶ Addy Gravatte ✶ Alan Tello ✶ Alvin Ortiz ✶ Amirra Malak ✶ Andrea Fuenzalida ✶ Angelica Full Moon ✶ Anita Sulimanovic ✶ Areem Rose ✶ Arthur Jackson V ✶ Ash Phillips ✶ Badri Valian ✶ BEARPAD (Patrick Stephenson & Jordan Fickel) ✶ Bushra Gill ✶ Crystal Mason ✶ Daniel Tofach ✶ Davey Faye ✶ David Maldonado ✶ Desiree Darling, Tiana McGuire & Lindsey Kincaid ✶ Devon Devine ✶ Dorian Katz ✶ eli vasquez ✶ Elizabeth Estrada ✶ Elle Lim-Chan ✶ Faaolatoto Griffin ✶ Gerardo Gama ✶ Ginger Yifan Chen ✶ Gisela Insuaste ✶ Hamza Kubba ✶ Idalia Ramos ✶ Jacquelyn Salgado ✶ Jason Wyman / Queerly Complex ✶ Jasper R. Rush ✶ Jaylene Cabrera ✶ Jeremiah Pfeffer ✶ Julian Parikh ✶ Kateryna Ferman ✶ Katina Papson ✶ Kevin McDonald ✶ Kevin Simmonds ✶ Kirthi Nath ✶ Lea McGeever ✶ Lena Lee ✶ Lesha Maria Rodriguez ✶ Marcella Sanchez ✶ Marin Carr-Quimet ✶ Mark McBeth ✶ Mason J ✶ Michael Kerschner ✶ Midori ✶ Neut ✶ Nitya Narasimhan ✶ Peter Max Lawrence ✶ Retura ✶ Rhea Joseph ✶ Sabriaya Shipley ✶ Scott Sessions ✶ somer taylor ✶ Soni Laughlin ✶ Stellan Knowles ✶ Taneesh Kaur (“Core”) ✶ Taryn Kearns ✶ Vera Ostroumova ✶ Vic Welle ✶ Wang Yiming ✶ YouBeen Kim
with a special pop-up fundraiser by SF Artists for Palestine
