Queer Joy: joy as an act of resistance - Charlotte Newman

messages posted to the 2023 Gainesville Pride Festival Queer Joy installation
64” x 44” x 2”
 
When your very existence is constantly being politicized, moments of self-acceptance can feel like activism. And Queer Joy, which extends beyond happiness to include feelings of optimism about the future, an act of resistance. In this piece messages posted on the Queer Joy installation at the 2023 Gainesville Pride Festival form a visual pattern reminiscent of the AIDS Memorial Quilt begun almost 40 years ago, the largest piece of community folk art in the world.