LGBTQ Artists Gallery Opening Exhibit launches on Friday, March 1, from 6:00-8:00 pm. The opening night event is the official premiere of the work by artists from Slobodan Randjelovic & Chuck Kramer. Opening night reception will include a cash bar. $5 Donations welcome at the door. 

2nd Floor Gallery   Slobodan Randjelovic

3rd Floor Gallery   Chuck Kramer

 

 

 

2nd Floor: Slobodan Randjelovic

 

Part of the ongoing series of photobooks published by The New Press with the Arcus Foundation and Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios on queer communities around the world, “Lives in Transition: LGBTQ Serbia” is a stunning portrait of a community battling discrimination in Serbia. The photography series will be on display at Center on Halsted launching on March 1, 2019.

In June 2001, Serbia witnessed its first LGBTQ pride parade in Belgrade’s Central Square. It was a short-lived march, as an ultranationalist mob quickly descended on the participants, chanting homophobic slurs and injuring dozens. For years afterward, fear of violence prevented further marches, and when, in October 2010, the next pride march finally went ahead, it again devolved into violence as anti-LGBTQ rioters, firing shots and hurling petrol bombs, fought the police. It was only in 2014 that a pride march was held uninterrupted, albeit under heavy police protection.

In “Lives in Transition,” Randjelovic captures the struggles and successes of 20 LGBTQ people living throughout Serbia—a conservative, religious country where, despite semi-progressive LGBTQ protection laws, discrimination fueled by religious authorities and right-wing political parties remains deeply entrenched. In a country where lack of employment opportunities and hostile families frequently drive queer people into poverty and isolation, these individuals have struggled to build a community that will offer solace, protection and even joy. This exhibit portrays remarkable and inspiring resilience in the human struggle against a repressive social environment and demonstrates how friendship and community can help people shape their own futures. 

 

 

3rd Floor: Chuck Kramer

 

I come to photography with a journalist’s eye, looking for the story people tell in their faces, their attire, the way they carry themselves, and things they do. I want my photos to reveal the humanity of my subjects and provide the viewer with a glimpse into someone else’s world.

This collection of LGBTQ photos, portraits really, have been shot on the go, capturing people in their day to day lives. Candid and revealing they present men and women, gay and bi, lesbian and trans, and queer too, at moments when they are celebrating who they are—in the clubs, attending pride, and on the street. They present the diversity of the community and people who tell the world clearly and strongly, “This is who I am and I am proud to be a member of the LGBTQ community.”

Each of these pictures tells the subject’s story. Sometimes it’s a love story; at other moments it’s a tale of friendship; but occasionally it’s a statement of defiance. This is Chicago’s LGBTQ community today and the photos are full of pride, excitement, and hope for the future.