Vancouver: Chosen Family Portraits

‘Chosen Family Portraits’ is a community-based art queer project commissioned during last years Vancouver Queer Film Festival with Artists-in-Residence Sarah Race and Sarah Buchanan. The Vancouver art project is presented this summer  – July 21 – August 21 2011 – as a series of lamp-post installations that include a ‘Chosen Family Portrait’ image and personal quote from the featured family’s testimonial.

“We always wanted to have children, and twelve years ago we had our son together.”

Chosen Family Portraits #2 by Sarah Race. Press photo courtesy of Celebrate Queer Vancouver and Vancouver Queer Film Festival

“We are all neighbours, in the Davie Village.”

Chosen Family Portraits #7 by Sarah Race. Press photo courtesy of Celebrate Queer Vancouver and Vancouver Queer Film Festival

“There’s a particular sort of ease and comfort and safety that I feel with my family that is very important to me. I have lots of different friends that I have different things in common with… but these are the people who I am able to just share ALL of myself with.”

Chosen Family Portraits #10 by Sarah Race. Press photo courtesy of Celebrate Queer Vancouver and Vancouver Queer Film Festival

“Especially within the queer community where people may have been rejected, or you don’t have always the ability to construct the sort of traditional family… it’s interesting to see how people come up with ways to meet the needs that the family traditionally needs. So look what we did.”

Chosen Family Portraits #9 by Sarah Race. Press photo courtesy of Celebrate Queer Vancouver and Vancouver Queer Film Festival

You can find the Chosen Family Portrait images at various public sites in Vancouver, Canada, through out ‘Celebrate Queer Vancouver’ – July 21 – August 21, including an installation as a part of the Queer Arts Festival (July 26 – August 13, 2011), presented by Pride in Art.

Related Links
Queer Arts Festival
Vancouver Queer Film