Brooklyn Museum Focuses on Queer Sexuality and Gender

HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, the first major museum exhibition in USA to explore how gender and sexual identity have shaped the creation of American portraiture, was originally organized by the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, and has been reorganized by the Brooklyn Museum and the Tacoma Art Museum. A wide range of public programs for the entire family will be presented in conjunction with the exhibition, including a symposium, a special edition of Target First Saturday, gallery tours, and film. The exhibition will be on view November 18, 2011, through February 12, 2012 at the Brookly Museum, USA.

I have selected my favourite events from the Brooklyn Museum’s press release:

Workshop: “Gender Expression and Variation”
Thursday, December 1, 5-8 p.m.
In this three-hour workshop, teens visit the exhibition HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture and discuss the role of art in exploring gender identity.
In the studio, a professional teaching artist will work with participants to create art about identity in its broadest terms.

HIDE/SEEK: Family-Artist Encounter
Saturday, December 10, 12-1:30 p.m.
Enjoy HIDE/SEEK as a family! Decode the symbolism that can be found in the paintings of Marsden Hartley in HIDE/SEEK and American Identities: A New Look. For children 7 and older with an adult companion. Participants will engage in an interactive exploration of a single artist and create a piece of art using some of the same materials or concepts. This program is free with admission, but space is limited to 25 participants. To register, e-mail youth.family@brooklynmuseum.org

HIDE/SEEK Teen Night
Thursday, January 12, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
This free event for LGBTQ teens and their allies will include live performances, music and dancing, interactive portrait photography, and refreshments. Please e-mail teen.programs@brooklynmuseum.org for more information or to RSVP.

Gallery Tour: HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture
Thursday, January 12, 7 p.m.

HIDE/SEEK Family-Artist Encounter
Saturday, January 14 and 28, 12-1:30 p.m.
Enjoy HIDE/SEEKas a family! For children 7 and older with an adult companion, participants will engage in an interactive exploration of a single artist and create a piece of art using some of the same materials or concepts. On the 14th create a shadowbox in the style of Joseph Cornell. In the class on the 28th, families will explore Georgia O’Keeffe’s magnified perspectives. This program is free with admission, but space is limited to 25 participants. To register, e-mail youth.family@brooklynmuseum.org.

HIDE/SEEK Symposium: Sexuality and the Museum
Saturday, January 28, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
A day-long, two-part symposium on themes and issues surrounding the HIDE/SEEKexhibition. The panels will explore the complex roles, responsibilities, challenges, and triumphs that museums and cultural institutions have faced in presenting and representing sexuality and queerness in art. It will also look at the history of the blacklist against queerness in museums and ask the question, “Where do we go from here?” Tickets, which include Museum admission, are $12 ($8 for members and cultural colleagues). Seating is limited, and advance ticket purchase is recommended via www.museumtix.com

More details about other events will be available at the Brooklyn Museum’s website.

Related Links
The official website of Hide/Seek