QUEER|ART

**MISSION STATEMENT** To create a diverse and vibrant community through the support of LGBTQ+ art and artists across generations and disciplines. **ABOUT** Queer|Art was born out of the recognition of a generation of artists and audiences lost to the ongoing AIDS Crisis, and in a profound understanding that one of the many repercussions of that loss has been a lack of mentors and role models for a new generation of LGBTQ+ artists. Founded in 2009 by filmmaker Ira Sachs, Queer|Art serves as a ballast against this loss and seeks to highlight and address a continuing fundamental lack of both economic and institutional support for LGBTQ+ artists. Our mission is to provide individuals within our community with the tools, resources, and guidance they need to achieve success and visibility for their work at the highest levels of their field. Our artist-centered approach generates cross-disciplinary and intergenerational dialogue with a wide range of services to the field, accompanied by public programming that honors and recognizes our community's cultural legacies. Our programs are organized under three major areas of support: PRACTICE (Creative and Professional Development), PRESENTS (Events, Exhibitions, and other Public Presentations), and AWARDS (Residencies, Grants, and Prizes). Each of these areas of support operate across four fields of creative practice: Film, Performance, Visual Art, and Literature. In 2020, we were excited to initiate a fourth branch of support: COMMUNITY RESOURCES (Racial Equity Advocacy & COVID-19 Recovery Efforts). This new addition to our programming provides our artists with the vital assets and networks needed to thrive in an increasingly hostile time. Queer|Art|Mentorship is the core program of PRACTICE and the cornerstone of all activity at Queer|Art. The annual 12-month program cultivates an intergenerational and interdisciplinary network of support and shared knowledge among a diverse and vibrant community of LGBTQ filmmakers, authors, performers, curators, and visual artists. Under PRESENTS, we focus on public presentations organized in partnership with various co-presenting venues. This includes showcase presentations of work by artists in our Mentorship community and stand-alone public programming series that feature artists from our extended community. AWARDS is the final major area of support honoring Queer|Art's mission. This initiative of grants, prizes, and awards provides various kinds of direct support—monetary and otherwise—to LGBTQ+ artists.