“I think the confidence in our future as a community of Queer Americans can be restored. It feels dark to stumble upon news articles that doom us to become mere murals and ideas of people rather than actual humans. However, we as artists have a special duty to keep hoping and making because the visual and emotional language we are fluent in is key to progress. In a world where languages are being erased and blissful ignorance has become the norm, it is important that we recognize the scarcity of our work and its power. Our work rejects the limits that a spoken language may have where people must know what it means to participate. We are not simply making shapes or pretty things on pedestals in white gallery spaces. Rather, we are participating in creating a larger language, one that includes more people than ever before. It is easy to feel dismissed in our current climate and overwhelmed with the sheer amount of loss that is felt every day. However, the act of making represents a resilience that cannot be left unknown. The silence can feel deafening, but the act of continuing to make and enjoy art is radical, as is believing in a better place.”