Celebrating a history of LGBTQIA+ activism and community with Homecoming

Carving space for themselves

Between two rooms, the Lesbian Mapping Project installation by Beth Schindler and Juno Rosenhaus fills two columns with wheatpasted signs authored by the community. The installation turns humorous, ordinary queer experiences into historical markers. (“At This Location, May 9, 2016, A Dozen Lesbians & Their Exes All Narrowly Missed Running Into Each Other. It Was A Miracle,” one reads.)

Centered before a bay window, Gail Lloyd’s sculpture VISIT FROM THE FUTURE envisions a time traveler sharing a hopeful message of safety and survival. At the foot of a staircase, Lane Timothy Speidel’s patchwork A Drawing to Show You I Have Seen the Moon Rise balances together moments of solitude and togetherness. These are but a glimpse of the stories and experiences captured through multiple mediums.

A diverse community with a vibrant arts scene, Lansdowne has a strong history of activism and an established LGBTQIA+ community. In organizing Homecoming, the Lansdowne Economic Development Corporation endeavoured to highlight this, said LEDC executive director Clare Finin.

“Now is a time more than ever that people who are your neighbors, your family, who are marginalized because they are part of the LGBTQIA community or are non-white, they need your support and to be seen,” Finin said.

Reflecting on history

Conversations with Lansdowne residents informed Wolensky’s curatorial decisions. Through stakeholder meetings, Wolensky learned older residents experienced “queer” as a derogatory term, recalling bar raids and arrests for public displays of affection, even as younger members embraced it.

Studio visits with the artists—all based in the greater Philadelphia area—cemented the exhibition’s narratives. The result is a blend of intergenerational and intersectional stories, from navigating the coming-out process and first heartbreaks to queer elders sharing historical perspectives.

Homecoming is as much about a place as it is about arrival to that place. A crowd favorite of the opening reception was Spillage, an archival-based installation from KT Abadir-Mullally. A participatory piece, viewers are invited to explore folders of queer archival materials, and have the option to take an item home, leave it for others, or discard it.

As Wolensky explained, the piece invites the question, “Who makes the decisions of what queer memories are kept alive throughout history?”

Inside the 20*20 House gallery, it’s up to the viewer. The gallery is open Saturday and Sundays, 12-4pm. A curators’ talk will be held on on Saturday, May 17; an artist panel on May 24; and a Pride market and community celebration on May 31.