An Evening of Photography and Community

Come and join us for a evening of photography and community in Napoleon's Itch Green Room. We will be presenting two internationally award winning photographers speaking about their LGBTQ+ campaigns. This event is FREE and open to the public of all ages. Come out and network with your community. Copies of the books will be available for purchase and signing after the presentation is complete. Photographers will be on hand to take your photos for possible use in a future project and for your personal use. Please only click going if you will be attending this event and RSVP by clicking "TICKETS AVAILABLE" link. The two campaigns presented are: "First Comes Love: Portraits of Enduring LGBTQ Relationships (Soleil Press) 2014 FIRST COMES LOVE is a celebration of enduring relationships in the LGBTQ community. Through a series of moving black-and-white portraits and accompanying stories in a 148 page, hardbound book, B. Proud, a Philadelphia based photography and university professor, illuminates the real lives of over 60 couples who have been together from between 10 to 59 years. Begun at time when same-sex marriage was in its infancy in the United States and the Defense of Marriage Act was the law of the land, these portraits show the deep-seated love between couples who have long considered themselves committed. Gathered here is a diverse collection of LGBTQ couples, including the California Proposition 8 Plaintiffs, Edie Windsor, the first couple married in the nation’s capital, the Mayor of Houston, Bishop Gene Robinson, gay pioneers Barbara Gittings, Kay Lahusen, and Lilli Vincenz, and many more. Breaking down the stereotypes of a community typically characterized by rainbow flags and gay pride parades, these portraits ask us to look beyond the surface and beyond the labels and see the true nature of these people who are deeply in love. Endorsed by the presidents of both the Human Rights Campaign and Freedom to Marry and with a foreword by Edie Windsor herself, "First Comes Love" is a must-have for every LGBTQ coffee table and library. AND Speaking OUT: Queer Youth in Focus is a photographic essay that explores the spectrum of experiences told from the perspective of a diverse group of youth ages 14-24, identifying as queer (i.e. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning). Portraits are presented without judgment or stereotype by eliminating environmental influence with a stark white backdrop. This backdrop acts as a blank canvas to be filled with each subject's point of view, handwritten onto the final darkroom print. Because this project spans over ten years, we are able to see a shift in the themes discussed by the LGBTQ youth during the fight for equality. Rachelle Lee Smith is an award winning, nationally, and internationally shown and published photographer. Her ongoing photographic essay Speaking OUT: Queer Youth in Focus is a body of work that has been published in magazines such as The Advocate, School Library Journal, Warszawski Festiwal Fotografii Artystycznej, HRC’s Equality and showcased by World Pride, the Equality Forum, the Human Rights Campaign, National Public Radio, Public Television and the U.S. Department of Education. This work was published this year by PM Press in the book Speaking Out: Queer Youth in Focus with a foreword and afterword by Candace Gingrich and Graeme Taylor.