One of the missions of History Month 2022 was to celebrate and draw a spotlight on those artists, poets, musicians, and graphic designers that have framed and coloured the conversation about LGBTQ and their communities. So we thought we’d share some of those artists right here. Below are 5 incredible artists that have awed, entertained, educated, and mobilised us to be better allies!
Liz Nania
Liz Nania created the first visual symbolic representation of bisexuality. The Biangles are two overlapping triangles, with the traditional pink and blue representing the sexes. Within a couple years it was adopted worldwide. Soon after the creation of the rainbow flag, the three colors of the Biangles became the basis for the bisexual flag.
Zanele Muholi
We can’t get enough of Zanele Muholi and their incredible work. A South African artist and visual activist working in photography, video, and installation, Muholi’s work dates back to the early 2000’s.
They explore race, gender, and sexuality, documenting and celebrating the lives of South Africa’s Black lesbian, gay, transgender, and intersex communities.
Pride Train
PrideTrain is a movement we can definitely get on board with. It all started in NY with local residents Thomas Shim, Ezequiel Consoli and Jack Welles bringing "Pride Train" posters and signs to MTA stations and trains all over the city in an effort to honour NYC Pride month out loud.
The posters cleverly use comedy to highlight how bigoted attitudes are outdated. And we are here for it!
Ashton Attzs
Let’s hear it for Ashton Attzs, a 23 year old queer, black, London-based artist with some serious skills. They won the 2018 Evening Standard Art prize and have worked with TK Maxx and Comic relief.
Their paintings and illustrations are a vehicle to empower the everyday person. We love their charmingly distinctive and racially gender-diverse animated characters on colourful backgrounds of bright blues and popping cotton-candy pinks. So bold, joyful and unapologetic!
Charmaine Poh
If you like photography, you’ll love the work of Singaporian, Charmaine Poh. In 2019, she was recognised as one of Forbes Asia 30 under 30 – The Arts.
Poh cleverly fuses image-making and performance, diving deep into her subject’s cultures, habits, and mutual differences. Her work explores non-binary gender identities and queer marriage.
Her work has been featured on i-D, Nowness, The New York Times, WePresent by WeTransfer, Artsy, and CNN Style, among others.