The Spotlight Portrait Series
This series of ten mixed media portraits amplifies the impact of LGBTQ+ civil rights advocates and icons including Bayard Rustin, Cherrie Moraga, Audre Lorde, Brittney Griner, Sylvia Rivera, Laverne Cox, James Baldwin, Marsha P. Johnson, Jasmyne Cannick, and Gloria Anzaldua.
Created through Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston’s Artist-in-Residence program, this ten-piece series grew from community-based workshops with the Chica Project and Hyde Square Task Force. We explored themes of refuge, solidarity, and civil rights through art. The participatory process invited community members to help shape the visual language through which these civil rights leaders and advocates are remembered.
As a complement to the Know Your Rights workshops LCR hosts that remind young people of their civil rights when engaging with ICE and law enforcement, I did guided breathing meditations and art making activities that focused on envisioning safe spaces and communicating values of personal importance through collage. I drew from the youth’s imagery, symbols, and ideas, abstracting elements of their artwork into the graphic forms that surround and contextualize each portrait. Six of the portraits are on view at LCR’S BizGrow co-working space that primarily serves small businesses owned by immigrants and people of color. The other four portraits have been gifted to The Chica Project and Hyde Square Task Force.
The images below showcase the finished artwork and peeks at the artwork from workshop participants that influenced the design.
