Kelly Vivanco 'All For You' - acrylic on wood panel
‘Love Conquers All: Art for Equality’
On view August 7th – August 28th at Thinkspace
Opening Reception: Sat, August 7th 7-10PM
*The Crepe N’ Around Food Truck will be out for the opening, so please be sure to bring your appetite.
20% of the proceeds from ‘Love Conquers All’ will be donated to Equality California (http://www.eqca.org/)
Kevin Titzer 'Siamese Fish' - acrylic on hand-carved wood and tin sculpture
Love Conquers All: Art For Equality is a special exhibition supporting the fight for equality which aims to raise awareness for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender) struggle in the process. This special exhibition features the work of over 50 international artists and promises to open eyes and encourage dialogue.
So, why are we fighting for civil rights? As of July 2010 multiple states have laws on the books that ban gay marriage by explicitly saying that marriage is a union between “a man and a woman.” In addition, at the Federal level, LGBT individuals have over 1,000 rights that aren’t afforded to them because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. They cannot serve our country in the military, cannot jointly file taxes, cannot have a foreign partner made into a legalized citizen, cannot receive death benefits, etc. As you can see, this isn’t only about marriage it’s also about being equally recognized by the government. The issues at hand are much larger than solely marriage.
We have to start somewhere in our fight for civil rights and historically the LGBT community has always had the world turned on its ear. Prop 8 served a purpose for those to define a government sanctioned marriage using a definition based on religion, they used gay marriage as a symbol of the undermining of family values and corruption of children and it served as a defining moment that they believed that Jim Crowe’s “separate but not equal” did not apply to LGBT individuals. For LGBT individuals, it served as a bastion of hope, a light at the end of the tunnel that would usher in a new era of civil rights…an era that would bring a more tolerant, more accepting society.
The fight for equality is not just an LGBT fight; it is a fight for all society. There are many straight allies, like those of us here at Thinkspace and the numerous artists that are involved in Love Conquers All: Art For Equality, that want to see LGBT individuals have the same rights as them. That is why Thinkspace and its co-curators have decided that a portion of the proceeds will go to EQCA (Equality California), because in the past decade, EQCA has successfully passed more than 60 pieces of civil rights legislation for the LGBT community – more than any other statewide LGBT organization in the nation. Working in partnership with California’s LGBT Legislative Caucus, EQCA is committed to building a better future for all Californians by protecting youth, strengthening families and empowering communities.
“Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices, but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence and fulfills the duty to express the results of his thought in clear form.” - Albert Einstein
Chet Zar 'On' - oil on canvas
Artists taking part include:
Adam Caldwell
Allison Sommers
Ana Bagayan
Anthony Clarkson
Aunia Kahn
Bob Dob
Brooke Grucella
Bumblebee
Caia Koopman
Cate Rangel
Chet Zar
Chris Murray
Craig ‘Skibs’ Barker
Dabs Myla
Dave Pressler
David MacDowell
Delphia
Erik Siador
Ferris Plock
Genevive Zacconi
Germs
Harriet Lambers
Imminent Disaster
Jacub Gagnon
James ‘Dalek’ Marshall
Jeff Ramirez
Jen Lobo
Jenna Colby
Jesse Hotchkiss
John Michael Gill
John Park
Joseph ‘2H’ McSween
Josie Morway
Katy Bisby
Kelly Tunstall
Kelly Vivanco
Kevin Titzer
Laurie Lipton
Leontine Greenberg
Lesley Reppeteaux
Linnea Strid
Liz Brizzi
Luke Kopycinski
Mari Inukai
Mark Dean Veca
Melanie Moore
Naoto Hattori
NohJColey
Paul Barnes
Paul Chatem
Rene Gagnon
ROA
Scott Belcastro
Shaunna Peterson
Stella Im Hultberg
Tiffany Liu
Timothy Karpinski
Tony Philippou
Tran Nguyen
Take a ‘Sneak Peek’ at the works for ‘Love Conquers All’ coming together here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkspace/sets/72157624482555932/
Josie Morway 'With Barely' - oil on wood panel
ABOUT EQUALITY CALIFORNIA:
Since it was founded in 1998, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil rights protections in the nation.
EQCA works to achieve equality and secure legal protections for LGBT people. To improve the lives of LGBT Californians, EQCA sponsors legislation and coordinates efforts to ensure its passage, lobbies legislators and other policy makers, builds coalitions, develops community strength and empowers individuals and other organizations to engage in the political process. In the past decade, EQCA has successfully passed more than 60 pieces of civil rights legislation for the LGBT community – more than any other statewide LGBT organization in the nation. Each year at the Capitol, EQCA monitors thousands of bills and leads the state’s efforts to defeat legislation that could have a negative impact on LGBT Californians and their families.
EQCA, on behalf of its members, is an organizational plaintiff in the historic lawsuit asking the California Supreme Court to strike down state law that bars same-gender couples from marriage. In court, EQCA has also successfully defended California’s domestic partnership laws and related state policies that have been implemented in response to EQCA-sponsored legislation
Website: www.eqca.org
“In Germany, they came first for the Communists,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists,
…And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then…they came for me…
And by that time there was no one left to speak up.”
- Pastor Martin Niemöller
Anthony Clarkson 'Across The Great Divide' - acrylic on wood panel
‘Love Conquers All: Art For Equality’ – Sat, August 7th – don’t miss it!
Thinkspace
6009 Washington Blvd. in Culver City
www.thinkspacegallery.com
