#visibleUSF

Too often museums, galleries, and art curriculum ignore or erase the lives and art of LGBTQIA+ individuals. This exhibition aims to make the diverse experiences and art from the queer community visible. Integrating queer perspectives and visibility is empowering and created a sense of belonging. Queering the art world can present alternative perspectives, promote diversity, and provide exposure to a more inclusive experience for all. Celebrate art from 30 participating LGBTQIA+ USF artists and featured artifacts from the USF Library LGBTQ+ Collection. This exhibition aspires to make visible the rich history and presence of Tampa Bay Area queer communities, activism, art, and people.  

This virtual exhibit serves as a retrospective of the #visibleUSF art gallery, which ran at the University of South Florida’s  Carolyn Wilson Gallery  from October 10-October 20, 2022. The exhibit was conceived, arranged, and facilitated by Christy Paris, a PhD Candidate in the College of Education at USF in Curriculum and Instruction: Teacher Education. Paris’s research focuses on Art- and Museum-Based Education, and #visibleUSF is a project in conjunction with her dissertation, which explores artivism (art + activism) and integrating LGBTQIA+ inclusivity in art educational settings. Paris teaches courses at the USF St. Petersburg campus and the University of Tampa in Modern Art, Contemporary Art, Art Theory, and Museum Education.

The amazing art showcased at #visibleUSF was sourced from a submission process open to all LGBTQIA+ students and faculty from across the USF system. Artists could submit up to three works of art in any medium or style and were invited to provide as little or as much biographical information as they felt comfortable with, which would be reflected on their wall label. Some artists provided their name, pronouns, orientation(s), identity labels, artist statement, and social media handles. The final show included both student and faculty works from more than thirty artists of all disciplines from both the Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses.  

Check out the  @visibleUSF Instagram  to see pictures from the gallery and reception night, and to link up with  tagged artists  who regularly post about their work. You can also follow #visibleUSF to see people’s reactions and photos from their visits.  

The flag wall introduced viewers to the images and history behind pride flags across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. The wall was accompaied by an interactive station encouraging guests to draw their own flag if it was not present on the main wall.

The flag wall was curated by Desiree Anderson.

Growing up in the Tampa Bay area, she was highly influenced by the developing art scene leading to a desire to pursue a career in museum curation. She currently holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from USF and was accepted into the master's program at USF. Having the opportunity to co-curate this exhibition, she was instrumental in bringing Christy Paris’ vision from concept to reality. She researched and curated the “flag wall,” which highlights the diversity of visual culture within the LGBTQIA+ community, curated several Spotify playlists for visitors to enjoy an additional medium by queer artists, and assisted with  Instagram posts.   

You can listen to the both queer music playlists below! Featured music includes LGBTQIA+ anthems from queer artists and supporters.

Scroll through the gallery below to view the flags alongside explanatory text about the creation and significance of the patterns and colors.

The gallery included two interactive portions that encouraged visitors to make their voices heard and share their thoughts about this particular exhibit, as well as standard curatorial practices in galleries and museums. One station was situated next to the Flag Wall and allowed a space for people to draw their own flag if they did not see it represented in the space. Submissions included both traditional flags and newly invented and unique offerings. The second station included a wall of blank squares of paper and asked people to offer a free response to the question, “What can museums do to make you feel represented?”  

Look through the gallery below to see what our visitors had to say!  

The definition wall provided an alphabetic glossary of some LGBTQIA+ terms for viewers to learn about This alphabet represents a selection of the diverse and robust language used by the LGBTQIA+ community. You can visit the following resources to learn more:  The Safe Zone Project ,  Vanderbilt's guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Intersex Life ;  The University of California, Davis LGBTQIA Resource Center Glossary ;  The Genderbread Person ; and  Trans Student Educational Resources. 

Scroll through the slideshow below to get acquainted with fifty-six words representing just a fraction of the many identities across the LGBTQIA+ community.

The Special Collections Department of USF Libraries – Tampa campus is home to more than 30 LGBTQ+ archival collections and 3,000 published items in the Queer Literature Collection. Current collections include materials that document LGBTQ+ history, culture, politics, community relations, and public health. While the Tampa Bay region remains an important focus, the collections are international in scope and provide valuable research material for scholars across disciplines. Collection items include photographs, papers, ephemera, audiovisual materials, and more.  

The #visibleUSF exhibit featured a selection of materials centered around themes: presence, politics, pride, people, and places. Explore the gallery below to view the arrangements and didactics to learn about Tampa Bay queer history.  

If you are interested in visiting the LGBTQ+ collections at USF Libraries Special Collections - Tampa campus, you can   schedule an appointment   in our Reading Room, which is open Monday-Friday (9a.m.-4pm.).   Subject area consultations  , either in person or virtually, are also available.

Special Collections is working to increase the digital presence of LGBTQ+ materials in our online repository. Click the buttons below to browse currently digitized items.

For questions about this project or the   LGBTQ+ archives  and   Queer Literature Collection  at USF Special Collections, please contact Sydney Jordan, Collections Coordinator, LGBTQ+ Studies (sydneyjordan@usf.edu).

If you would like to support the growth and continued success of the LGBTQ+ collections at USF Libraries, you can contribute financially. The  LGBT Research Award  supports student scholarship and engagement with the collections and the  LGBT Collection fund  supports general operational services. Christy Paris was the 2022 recipient of the LGBT Research Award for her work with #visibleUSF. Interested students can  apply here  during active awards cycles.

Special Collections is looking to expand its LGBTQ+ collections in both physical and digital format and welcome inquiries about materials donations.