Issue No. 28 – Control

What is the nature of control? The desire for it—and to be free of it—are essential parts of both life and art.

Pride Month!

Pride Month!

The Pride Project © Yanika Anukulpun

The Pride Project © Yanika Anukulpun

By Emma Coyle

Every summer since the 1969 Stonewall Riots, Pride has been celebrated in June in New York City and has spread nationally and internationally to the point where former President Bill Clinton officially recognized Pride Month in 1999. Pride is deeply important because it gives the members of a marginalized community an opportunity to celebrate their lives and come together to support each other through their shared struggles. LGBT+ people have become more culturally visible over the last few years and that has come with a mix of increased support and harmful backlash. Pride has always been political, starting as a protest against unfair police practices enforced against transgender women of color at the Stonewall Inn, and it continues the practice with groups, such as The Reclaim Pride Coalition in New York City, trying to minimize or eliminate the corporatization of pride and police presence during events which can be considered threatening to many members of this deeply intersectional community.

The Pride Project © Yanika Anukulpun

The Pride Project © Yanika Anukulpun

Pride celebrations are also a chance to let go of some of the work needed for daily survival and enjoy the opportunity to be surrounded by supportive friends and family. This month isn’t only to commemorate the lives and accomplishments of those who are no longer with us, even though that is deeply important, it is also to recognize the importance and impact LGBT+ people have had culturally. Every year let us strive to be more receptive, accepting, and generous towards those in our lives, including strangers. This year for Pride Month Museé Magazine would love to celebrate the work of Yanika Anukulpun who captured these joyful images from her series, The Pride Project, in San Francisco last year and New York City this year. Each photograph captures a moment in time where the people not only look happy but also comfortable. They are together with their community and are able to celebrate the meaningfulness of the progress made, the connections found, and the genuine love held for each other.

The Pride Project © Yanika Anukulpun

The Pride Project © Yanika Anukulpun

The work will always continue but for one month of the year, there is a lightness and a joy throughout the LGBT+ community that connects people from small towns to large cities to places all around the world. Let’s hope that this year Pride is able to bring people together, help people learn to love themselves and find not only acceptance but a celebration of their diverse identities.

 

Interview with Patricia Beary — "Return to the Muse"

Interview with Patricia Beary — "Return to the Muse"

Eruption of Mount Kilauea

Eruption of Mount Kilauea