The John Burton Harter Foundation will be presenting an exhibition for Pride 2024, Le sanctuaire: Intimacy, Community, and Sacred Space opening June 8th (5 to 10pm) at UNO Gallery, located at 2429 St. Claude Avenue.
Sponsored by WWNO and curated by Josiah Gagosian, a local artist and educator, the exhibition will feature artwork from a diverse group of contemporary LGBTQ+ artists with ties to New Orleans, including Andrew Lamar Hopkins, Benry Fauna, Brad J. Dupuy, Claire Ragland, Colin Roberson, E Marshall, Trenity Thomas, Tyler Rosebush, and the artist duo, soilsoul (Trécha Gay Jheneall and cyan cian). The artists will exhibit their works alongside that of the late J. B. Harter, whose paintings & drawings explored and documented gay male culture of the 1970s and beyond.
“Benry as Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” (2022) by Benry Fauna
The wide range of artistic approaches presented in the exhibit will explore the recurrent need for spaces of community and connection. This is especially true in the context of a socio-political climate that has so often proven hostile to the rights of LGBTQ+ people throughout the Gulf South, whether in Harter’s era, during the rise of the gay liberation movement, or now as a growing conservative backlash threatens to undo decades of progress in the battle for LGBTQ+ rights and protections. As always, artists are at the forefront of resistance, using their creative work to envision and embody places of sanctuary and self-determination.
“Portrait of a City with Iron Gate” by Brad Dupuy
The show will run through July 6th, and there will be accompanying artist talks and other events that will be announced on the UNO Gallery website (https://www.unostclaudegallery.org/) and on Instagram @u.n.o_gallery
“Storm’s Oppstilt” by J. B. Harter
