Queer Cultural Center presents A History of Violence

Curated by Rudy Lemcke, the Queer Cultural Center presents A History of Violence, a multidisciplinary exploration of the social and political context of violence against and within queer communities, featuring the work of artists who have gazed deeply into the flame of violence and reacted in ways that allow us a compelling look into queer existence.

Violence is defined by the World Health Organization as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development, or deprivation.”

It is perpetrated through politics, economics, and culture – and made real through human interaction. Poverty, social injustice, state sponsored brutality, racism, sexism, homophobia, intolerance, and oppression are examples of its instrumentality. All are symptomatic of systemic violence manifesting itself in our daily experience of the world.

The LGBT community was born and shaped by violence like this. Through social and cultural exclusion, criminalization, medical objectification, religious persecution, artistic censorship, familial rejection and historical erasures, our identities were forged—for better or worse.

We exist in a world where these dynamics of power and control are already operating for and against us. Because of this, the psychic and physical effects of violence are a part of who we are.

Is resistance possible?

The free public opening reception on Thursday, June 7 from 6–9pm will feature performance previews from the 2018 National Queer Arts Festival.

For more information, including a full curatorial statement, visit https://qcc2.org/history-of-violence/