“I have arrived, I am found.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh
beLONGING highlights the work of four LGBTQIA+ artists, Carmel Dor, THECOLORG, Abbey Muza, and Meg Wolensky. Each artist’s practice reflects on identity – what forms a sense of self? How do we find ourselves through resonance with others? Gestures of recognition and affirmation appear in each artist’s work, pointing to the idea of identity as an act of self-realization, a dialogue unfolding in between oneself and others in (nonlinear) time. Through textiles, painting, and sculpture, the artists locate threads of connection across space and time in myths, poetry, archival research, performance, and lived experiences. Fragments are pieced into new holistic constellations in Abbey Muza’s tapestries and Meg Wolensky’s paintings. THECOLORG's soft sculptures explore the overlap and slippage between our embodied and digital selves, while Carmel Dor’s paintings revere the potential for reinvention offered by transition and time. Taken as a whole, the exhibition explores the complex bonds of community, kinship, and desire which form the outlines of belonging in both inherited and chosen worlds.
In alignment with the rich history of self-publication across LGBTQIA+ communities, beLONGING will include an interactive zine-making station using materials from the artists and a pop-up reading room with books and zines that reflect on the themes present in the exhibition. Through these interactive resources, the gallery supports space for people to connect with each other, with the exhibition, and with the communities in which they find belonging.