Everyone Under the Rainbow

In June, 2022, the Quinte Arts Council celebrated the fourth annual Everyone Under the Rainbow Show.  A time to embrace freedom of identity and expression across the gender and sexuality spectrums. It’s also for allies to show their solidarity to those in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. As part of OTF’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and in consultation with community members, we have adopted the 2SLGBTQIA+ acronym to better reflect the identities and lived experiences of individuals in our communities.

As we navigate the late stages of this pandemic and see venues opening their doors, and changes to our creative ecosystems, we celebrate the Quinte Pride theme of “Stayed in, Coming Out.” During Pride month, the Quinte Arts Council (QAC) is hosted the fourth annual Everyone Under the Rainbow Show. Each year, this show fosters new connections with artists in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Quinte and provides a place for artists to showcase and celebrate their art; because everyone deserves a place under the rainbow.

According to the LGTBQ+ Danger Index for 2022, Canada ranked number one as the safest county for people in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to live in and visit. Mexico ranks 50th on the danger index. Local artist Luisé Cisneros, a student at the Ontario College of Art and Design University, has created an art installation focused on the dangers facing the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Mexico. 

“Mexico occupies second place in the world for the most homicides against trans or gender-diverse people. In Mexico, the LGBTQ+ community is protected by human rights bills, the constitution, and provincial policies – but the government hasn’t done a great job of implementing systems that change the way of thinking of the majority of society. Toxic masculinity behaviour is integrated and fomented into society by these institutions and learned from childhood to adulthood, and passed through generations,” says Cisneros, whose interactive installation was featured in the QAC gallery for the month of June.

QAC Member and artist, Daniel Fobert, painted the artwork featured on the QAC 2022 Everyone Under the Rainbow poster (pictured above) and his painting was part of the show. Fobert knows firsthand that Pride is a time when a community comes together.

“I went to Cape Coral Pride in March 2020. I stopped these total strangers in the street and asked them to pose for me and they kindly did. This year’s Pride 2022 (March) in Cape Coral, I ran into them, in a huge crowd, and relayed to them that I painted them and now they are friends,” says Fobert about the couple featured in his artwork.

Everyone Under the Rainbow has taken place virtually over the past two years due to lockdowns but this year, with restrictions lifting, the show was held in person, and provided an interactive experience that represented the 2SLGBTQIA+ community of the Quinte region and beyond.

“An inclusive and equitable culture of diversity is at the core of our mandate. The QAC believes the arts belong to everyone, of all ages and stages, race, sexual orientation and gender, and our goal is to ensure diverse perspectives are represented and experienced through art. Our gallery provides the platform and empowers underrepresented voices to advocate for the value and necessity of all arts in our community – inclusion is how we unleash the power of diversity and creativity,” says Janet Jarrell, QAC Executive Director.

#StayedInComingOut