Decolonizing the Color of Queerness

Portrait of Cristina Pitter (image courtesy the artist, photo by Julia Anrather)

What is June, really? It’s a time for the LGBTQ community to come together and reflect on the ongoing fight for equality, even as we honor the hard-won achievements by queer activists past and present. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on the rich creativity and diversity of our friends and chosen families.

That’s why Hyperallergic is putting a special spotlight on the queer arts community this month. Writers, philosophers, activists, illustrators, painters, sculptors, poets, filmmakers, performers, drag queens — everyone, all creative people are important beacons of hope and resilience in a time of political uncertainty. We’ve always been devoted to using our website as a platform for historically marginalized peoples, and Pride Month is also a time to celebrate and double-down on that work.

Inaugurating this effort, we invited artist and actor Cristina Pitter to share a selection of readings from her solo performance, Decolonizing the Color of Queerness on our Hyperallergic Art Movements podcast. It’s something of a paean to self-discovery that weaves its way toward self-actualization through histories of hardship and episodes of revelation — something every queer person can relate to. The music in this episode is generously provided by the composer Serena Ebony Miller.

This and more in our current episode of our weekly Art Movements podcast.

Subscribe to Hyperallergic’s podcast, Art Movements, on iTunes or anywhere else you listen to podcasts.

This article is part of our 2019 Pride in Art series supported by Swann Auction Galleries.

Swann’s first ever “Pride Sale,” a curated auction of material related to the LGBTQ+ experience and the gay rights movement, takes place on June 20, 2019. A corresponding exhibition of works on offer will run from June 15 through the sale.