Set on Freedom (SoF) was an artist retreat organized by the Open A.I.R. Artist Service Program at the Queens Museum for women, gender non-conforming, trans, queer artists of color in the summer of 2016. The program was held following violent tragedies like the mass shooting at Pulse and in the midst of several high-profile acts of police brutality that took the lives of Black people. Over the course of the year, a group of queer artists of color from the summit continued to hold space to discuss how the themes of displacement, dispossession, home, and strength have impacted their everyday experiences and informed their artistic practices.

One year following the inaugural SoF retreat, the works presented in this exhibition and accompanying program series, Set on Freedom, were created during the artists’ work to foster an inclusionary and mutually-supportive artistic community. Acting as self-disciplined cultural organizers during this process, the exhibiting artists have explored their own representations of race, gender, sexuality, and love, de-centering whiteness and imagining radical systems of progress to uplift themselves as queer artists of color.

Participating Artists:
Jes Fan
Lee Bullitt
Sue Jeong Ka
Ayasha Guerin
Tiffany Joy Butler

The receptions will include by readings by participating artists and the following poets at 4pm :

Kay Ulanday Barrett is a poet, performer, and educator, navigating life as a disabled pilipinx amerikan transgender queer in the U.S. with struggle, resistance, and laughter. When The Chant Comes (Topside Heliotrope 2016) is their first collection. K. has been invited to The White House, Princeton University, UC Berkeley, The Lincoln Center, Queens Museum, and The Chicago Historical Society to name a few. They are a fellow of both The Home School and Drunken Boat. Their contributions are found in PBS News Hour, Lambda Literary, RaceForward, Foglifter, The Deaf Poets Society, Poor Magazine, Fusion.net, Trans Bodies/Trans Selves, Winter Tangerine, Make/Shift, Third Woman Press, The Advocate, and Bitch Magazine. Kaybarrett.net

Shivani Davé is a queer Indian femme living in NYC. She is a community organizer and aspiring educator. She writes for her community, for healing and learning. She will be reading from her debut collection of haikus exploring anxiety, assimilation, connection, and coming home–its too cold i’m going home. The haikus are paired with collages, each hand-stitched book is hand-painted with custom art inspired by traditional mendhi designs.

Light refreshments will be served.

Accessibility Information:
• The sidewalks immediately surrounding the museum have ramps and are in good conditions. There are metal benches too. From the museum’s sidewalks to inside of the museum, the floor is mostly flat, and one does not depend on going using steps to move around the museum. The reading will be in the Community Partnership Gallery. You may take the elevator to the second floor, which opens facing the Community Partnership Gallery.
• The nearest bathrooms are both 15ft and 25ft away from the Community Partnership Gallery.
• We have plastic, light-weight foldable chairs in the space with little cushion. If you need any other kind of accommodation for seating, we may support with larger office chairs, but these are limited. Please let us know if you may need this assistance.
• The Community Partnership Gallery is on the second floor of the museum, with a large crystal wall that lets plenty of sunlight come into the room, and with a view of Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
• Flushing Meadows Corona Park and the Queens Museum are smoke free spaces.
• Please be aware of community members with chemical and scent sensitivities and refrain from using scented products in your hair, on your body, or on your clothes (scented soaps and detergents, perfumes, hair spray, shampoos, lotions, etc.) For more info, please visit: www.brownstargirl.org/blog/fragrance-free-femme-of-colour-realness-draft-15

Special thanks to all the participants of Set on Freedom 2016 and its core organizers, Kay Ulanday Barrett, Dominique Hernandez, Silvia Juliana Mantilla Ortiz, Simone?! Satchell, and Thanushka Yakupitiyage.

Image: Jes Fan, Soft Goods II (2017)

Additional Events: 
Sunday, July 16th: Movement Workshop & Pop-up Apothecary with BUFU, 2:00PM-4:00PM
Saturday, July 22nd: Film & Video Screening with Hot Cabinet, 2:00PM-5:00PM