Each cycle of Queer|Art|Mentorship culminates in an annual showcase of work produced by current Fellows.
"THE QAM ANNUAL" includes screenings, readings, performances, and a gallery exhibition.

Queer|Art|Mentorship 2019-2020
Annual Exhibition

“ARCANUM”

October 29, 2020 – January 7, 2021

Queer|Art is pleased to announce the 2019-2020 Queer|Art|Mentorship Annual Exhibition: “ARCANUM,” open from October 29, 2020 through January 7, 2021. The exhibition features new and ongoing work by the graduating Fellows of the organization’s celebrated Queer|Art|Mentorship (QAM) program and comprises interactive multimedia installations and events focused on revitalizing the intergenerational and interdisciplinary art of storytelling. Combining both virtual components and outdoor activations throughout New York City, the sprawling exhibition includes a cyber gallery with game-like installations, outdoor performances, artist talks, live-streamed readings, and screenings. “ARCANUM” is curated by Anthonywash.Rosado, and includes work by: Brian Gonzalez, Patrick G. Lee, María José Maldonado, Felli Maynard, Olaiya Olayemi, Sarah Sanders, and Sarah Zapata.

The term “arcanum” has two meanings: 1) specialized knowledge shared with those willing, and 2) an intoxicating elixir or liquid capable of transforming base metals into gold. In naming the Queer|Art|Mentorship Annual Exhibition “ARCANUM,” the Fellows invite viewers to engage with diverse forms of storytelling, accessing both contemporary narratives and lineages of queer ancestral knowledge. Among the constellations of creative disciplines assembled within “ARCANUM,” viewers will discover a rich tapestry of TLGBQ+ and BIPoC storytelling technologies, and critical methods for understanding one’s own origins. By encouraging visitors to determine their own experience, “ARCANUM” aims to initiate a symbiotic relationship between art and viewer.

*** Read the “ARCANUM” Curatorial Statement, “Parable of the Curator”, written by 2019-2020 QAM Curatorial Fellow Anthonywash.Rosado here ***

CYBER GALLERY

The centerpiece of “ARCANUM” is the Cyber Gallery, an online exhibition environment that will be hosted on the Queer|Art website October 29, 2020 - January 7, 2021. Entering the website, visitors will find the traditional gallery format has been alchemized into a video game; a cosmic dreamscape, complete with seven planets, uniquely constructed by the Fellows. Within these self-contained worlds, produced in collaboration with artists and digital engineers gabbah baya and Natalie Valcourt, each Fellow offers their own stories as told through their chosen media. At the nucleus of the exhibition’s virtual galaxy is the Ofrenda (Altar) to Queer Ancestor Artists, which features artworks by Afro-diasporic and Queer ancestors assembled in collaboration with Visual AIDS, The LGBT Community Center, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

TIME-BASED EVENTS

A series of special programs of art events, organized by the graduating Fellows, will take place as part of “ARCANUM” throughout its two-month run—including live screenings, performances, artist talks, and more. Olaiya Olayemi performs a ritual to the Yoruban deity Oshun alongside the Hudson River; Sarah Sanders delivers a theatrical exploration of whiteness, American Jewish identity, and politics closing with a sunset bonfire at Abrons Arts Center’s outdoor amphitheatre; Brian Gonzalez shares a visual requiem for Mexican farm workers, accompanied by a live operatic performance at Norwood Club’s garden space in Chelsea; María José Maldonado offers a live reading of their novel-in-progress taking place in a future where cisgender boys and men have begun to menstruate due to the dwindling human population caused by climate change; Felicita “Felli” Maynard presents an intimate short film paying tribute to Black drag kings of the 20th century; and more. RSVP is required for all “ARCANUM” events, see below for details.

Above: “ARCANUM” time-based events posters, designed by Andrius Alvarez-Backus. Click on any image to learn more!

OPENING RECEPTION

On October 29, 2020, “ARCANUM,” the 2019-2020 Queer|Art|Mentorship Annual Exhibition held its Opening Reception virtually, hosted by Queer|Art|Mentorship Literature Fellow Raja Feather Kelly and Andre J. To commemorate the launch of the exhibition’s cyber gallery, the event included a curatorial walkthrough, performances, and conversations with the featured artist Fellows. Following the reception, guests were treated to an afterparty with celestial sets by DJ Monday Blue and Adam R.

ABOUT THE CURATOR

MEET THE TEAM

ANNUAL ARCHIVES