Mission Statement
To create a diverse and vibrant community through the support of LGBTQ+ art and artists across generations and disciplines.
ABOUT
Queer|Art was born out of the recognition of a generation of artists and audiences lost to the ongoing AIDS Crisis, and in a profound understanding that one of the many repercussions of that loss has been a lack of mentors and role models for a new generation of LGBTQ+ artists. Founded in 2009 by filmmaker Ira Sachs, Queer|Art serves as a ballast against this loss and seeks to highlight and address a continuing fundamental lack of both economic and institutional support for LGBTQ+ artists. Our mission is to provide individuals within our community with the tools, resources, and guidance they need to achieve success and visibility for their work at the highest levels of their field.
Our artist-centered approach generates cross-disciplinary and intergenerational dialogue with a wide range of services to the field, accompanied by public programming that honors and recognizes our community's cultural legacies. Our programs are organized under three major areas of support: PRACTICE (Creative and Professional Development), PRESENTS (Events, Exhibitions, and other Public Presentations), and AWARDS (Residencies, Grants, and Prizes). Each of these areas of support operate across four fields of creative practice: Film, Performance, Visual Art, and Literature. In 2020, we were excited to initiate a fourth branch of support: COMMUNITY RESOURCES (Racial Equity Advocacy & COVID-19 Recovery Efforts). This new addition to our programming provides our artists with the vital assets and networks needed to thrive in an increasingly hostile time.
Queer|Art|Mentorship is the core program of PRACTICE and the cornerstone of all activity at Queer|Art. The annual 12-month program cultivates an intergenerational and interdisciplinary network of support and shared knowledge among a diverse and vibrant community of LGBTQ filmmakers, authors, performers, curators, and visual artists.
Under PRESENTS, we focus on public presentations organized in partnership with various co-presenting venues. This includes showcase presentations of work by artists in our Mentorship community and stand-alone public programming series that feature artists from our extended community.
AWARDS is the final major area of support honoring Queer|Art's mission. This initiative of grants, prizes, and awards provides various kinds of direct support—monetary and otherwise—to LGBTQ+ artists.
Board
- Nelson Santos (President): Artist, Educator, Nonprofit Executive Director
- Lola Flash (Vice President): Artist; 2019-2020 QAM Mentor, Visual Art
- Cecilia Gentili (Secretary): Founder, Trans Equity Consulting; Advocate and Organizer
- Ira Sachs (Treasurer): Filmmaker; Queer|Art Founding Director
- Bee Davis: Data Scientist, Cybersecurity Professional, Activist
- Mai Ly: Financial Markets Professional
- Ellen Marks: Former Managing Director, Accenture
- Lucila Moctezuma: Documentary and Media Arts Consultant, Film Festival Programmer
- Max Rifkind-Barron: Filmmaker
- Fran Tirado: Writer, Podcaster, Filmmaker
- Kei Williams: Artist and organizer; founding member, Black Lives Matter Global Network
Staff
- Río Sofia: Co-Director, Programs & Operations
- L Marmon: Co-Director, Finance & Fundraising
- Andrius Alvarez-Backus: Design & Marketing Manager
- Tanner Williams: Development Associate, Corporate Partnerships
- Tyler Wert: Development Associate, Institutional Giving
- Reya Sehgal: Programs & Operations Manager
- Dani Brito: BlaQ Program Manager
- Adam Baran: Resident Curator, Queer|Art|Film
- Evan Scott: Newsletter Editor
- Mike Teele: Bookkeeper
- Community Jewelbox: Organizational Development Consultants
- Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP: Legal Counsel
Associates
Donors and PARTNERS
For a full list of our donors and institutional partners, visit our SUPPORT page.
contact
For general inquiries, write to info[at]queer-art.org. You can also write to Río Sofia (Co-Director, Programs & Operations) at rsofia[at]queer-art.org, and L Marmon (Co-Director, Finance & Fundraising) at lmarmon[at]queer-art.org.
For mailing purposes, Queer|Art’s office is located at 140 2nd Avenue, Suite 501, New York, NY 10003.
TIMELINE
2009
PRESENTS: Queer|Art introduces Queer|Art|Film, a critically-acclaimed monthly screening series in which LGBTQ artists present and discuss the films that have most inspired them. Curated by Ira Sachs and Adam Baran, the series originates at 92st-Y Tribeca, before moving to the IFC Center in 2010. Learn More.
2010
PRACTICE: Queer|Art introduces Queer|Art| Mentorship, an annual creative and professional development program initially developed by Ira Sachs and Lily Binns that brings together emerging and established artists in a 12-month exchange. First year Mentors include: Hilton Als, Nicole Eisenman, Sarah Schulman, Barbara Hammer, Jenny Livingston, Pamela Sneed, John Kelly, and Everett Quinton. First year Fellows include: Yve Laris Cohen, Jess Barbagallo, Pati Hertling, Tommy Pico, Guadalupe Rosales, and Jacolby Satterwhite, among others! Learn More.
2014
PRESENTS: 2013-2014 Fellow Rick Herron organizes a culminating exhibition of work by Fellows and Mentors in his class, which is made possible through a partnership with Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. The hugely successful exhibition becomes a yearly feature of the program until 2020, thereafter known as "The QAM Annual." Learn More.
2014
October 24th, 2014: Queer|Art receives official status as a 501c3 non-profit organization.
2017
PRESENTS: Queer|Art introduces Queer|Art|Pride, an annual showcase of recent work by Alumni of the Mentorship program. Principally a showcase of the continuing progress of QAM artists’ individual creative practices, the festival during Pride month also includes orientation and professional development opportunities for new applicants to the program. Learn More.
2017
PRESENTS: Queer|Art|Film celebrates its 100th screening!
2017
AWARDS: Queer|Art launches a new Awards initiative with Queer|Art|Prize. Made possible through partnership with HBO, Queer|Art|Prize distributes two $10,000 awards to LGBTQ artists based in the United States: one for Sustained Achievement and the other for Recent Work. With a Nominating Committee of over 40 arts professionals from around the country, Queer|Art|Prize confirms the impact of QA's support on a national level. The award ceremony becomes known as the Queer|Art Annual Party. Learn More.
2017
PRESENTS: Queer|Art introduces the Community Portrait Project, an annual commission of digital portraits celebrating the artists of our growing community. Over time, the project charts nuances of generational and personal growth within the community, seen through the lens of a different LGBTQ+ photographer each year. Learn More.
2017
AWARDS: With generous support from Barbara Hammer, Queer|Art launches the Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant, an annual $5,000 grant awarded to self-identified lesbians for making visionary moving-image art. Learn More.
2019
AWARDS: Queer|Art launches the Eva Yaa Asantewaa Grant for Queer Women(+) Dance Artists, an annual $10,000 grant to award queer women and nonbinary artists for making cutting-edge dance and movement-based performance work. Named in honor of visionary dance curator, critic, and educator Eva Yaa Asantewaa, the grant highlights the important contributions queer women and nonbinary artists have made to dance throughout history. Learn More.
2019
Travis Chamberlain, who joined Queer|Art in 2017 as Managing Director, is announced as Executive Director. Learn More.
2019
AWARDS: Queer|Art announces a new partnership with The Robert Giard Foundation to provide their first international grant, the Robert Giard Grant for Emerging LGBTQ+ Photographers. The $10,000 annual grant focuses on supporting emerging LGBTQ+ photographers whose projects address issues of sexuality, gender, or LGBTQ+ identity. Learn More.
2020
PRACTICE: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Queer|Art|Mentorship reformats its structure to work within a virtual framework. The move to a remote fellowship enables QAM to expand nationally for the first time, supporting both remote and in-person participation between early-career and established LGBTQ+ artists from across the country.
2020
AWARDS: Queer|Art launches the Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists, a $10,000 grant. Developed and named in partnership with Mariette Pathy Allen, Aaryn Lang, and Serena Jara, this annual grant sheds light on the under-recognized contributions of Black trans women visual artists and provides critical support to their continuing work. Learn More.
2020
COMMUNITY RESOURCES: Queer|Art introduces a fourth, new branch of support known as COMMUNITY RESOURCES, which focuses on racial equity advocacy & COVID-19 recovery efforts. Immediate steps include the publication of a collectively written Call for Action & Accountability that details QA’s commitment to dismantling white supremacy; the creation of BlaQ, (a Black-led resource mapping group for Black LGBTQ+ artists); and conducting a survey charting the impact of COVID-19 on our extended community. Learn More.
2020
COMMUNITY RESOURCES: The Queer|Art|Mentorship Giving Circle is founded as a mutual aid initiative that pools donations from community members and provides direct financial aid to artists who need support defraying costs of basic needs. Created in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Giving Circle is now administered on an ongoing basis. Learn More.
2021
Queer|Art's Board of Directors becomes majority people of color, more accurately reflecting the diverse community of creatives they strive to support.
2021
Queer|Art becomes a fiscal sponsor for Art For Black Lives, a platform allowing artists to donate fine art digital prints for sale with all profits providing resource support to various organizations within the Black Trans Community. Learn More.
2021
PRACTICE: Queer|Art|Mentorship debuts the QAM Retreat, a weeklong residency providing an opportunity for Fellows to become acquainted as a cohort and hold space for collective and individual reflection. The Retreat features artist presentations, work-in-progress sharings, and financial wellness workshops, all in an inclusive and restful environment. Now an annual hallmark of the program, the Retreat is sponsored by Blundstone.
2021
PRESENTS: The Queer|Art Annual Party moves to The Whitney Museum of American Art.
2021
AWARDS: BlaQ (QA’s Black LGBTQ+ Artist Group) launches The Pamela Sneed Award for Black Queer|Art|Mentorship Artists and Organizers, an annual $10,000 grant recognizing Black Fellows and Mentors who uplift critical histories of Black queer mentorship at large, and uphold guiding principles like intergenerational exchange, collective care, and creative resilience. The award is named after the inaugural winner: poet, visual artist, performer, and Multi-Year QAM Mentor Pamela Sneed. Learn More.
2022
Queer|Art becomes a fiscal sponsor for Body Hack, a collectively organized party and fundraising platform seeking to model a world where trans communities can thrive interdependently. Hosted monthly at Nowadays, Body Hack creates dedicated spaces for trans people to gather, celebrate, and support one another. Each party doubles as a fundraiser for a trans-related initiative, raising over $225k since its formation in 2018.
2022
Queer|Art becomes a fiscal sponsor for Lite Brite Neon Studio, a custom neon and lighting shop specializing in artist collaborations and commercial installations. Lite Brite Neon Studio is also the collective that Queer|Art collaborates with to produce our annual neon artist commissions, which went to Nelson Santos in 2021 and Lola Flash in 2023.