Queer Photography Art Highlights at AIPAD, While LBGTQ Rights Are Under Attack in America

Zanele Muholi Mihla III, Port Edward, 2020, www.yanceyrichardson.com

By RUBEN NATAL-SAN MIGUEL March, 2023

Queer Photography is one of the biggest highlights this year at the AIPAD Photography Show running from from March 31 to April 2, at 415 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, NYC with a VIP opening preview on March 30, from 12 to 8 pm. In addition to the 45 participating galleries, the fair will include an exciting schedule of talks and programming. The Association of International Photography Art Dealers [AIPAD] was organized in 1979. With members in the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe and Japan, the Association has become a unifying force in the field of photography.

Excecutive Director of AIPAD Lydia Melamed Johnson

Natalya Nova, The Kiss, 2019, printed 2023, archival digital metallic print, 24 x 16 in. Signed in ink on recto

Lola Flash at Jenkins Johnson Gallery www.jenkinsjohnsongallery.com

Currently in America, since the beginning of this year, at least 32 bills have been filed in Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia targeting drag performances, with more on the way.

Pater Berlin - Courtesy of ClampArt Gallery

Gogo and Ser, 2015, by Ethan James Green, Aperture Foundation  www.aperture.org

Hanging off Bed, John Bidgood Courtesy of ClampArt Gallery
 

Tennessee was the first to pass its bill into law last week, barring “adult cabaret performances” on public property or in places where they might be within view of children. The bill bans, among other things, “male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest, or similar entertainers”. Violators may face misdemeanor or even felony charges.

Lissa Rivera- ClampArt Gallery

ClampArt at AIPAD

Lissa Rivera- Beautiful Boy, Blindfold. Courtesy of ClampArt Gallery

Sunil Gupta- Outtake, from the series Exiles, 1987 Aperture Foundation, www.aperture.org

In Texas, at least four different bills would put venues that host drag performances in the same category as adult movie theaters and strip clubs.

It was exciting to see how Fine Art Photography was present and claiming its space and visibility in the photography community, equality, free speech and human rights.

It was great to see that ClampArt Gallery had an entire booth pretty much dedicated to Queer Portraiture. WM