Why should Pride end with June?

Gordon Haber
Colorful hamsa

Pride Month is coming to a close. Often this is when discussions of queer and trans rights begin to wane. This month, however, we thought we’d end the month with reminders of Jewish LGBTQ contributions to the arts as a way of keeping the Pride ball rolling. As always, we welcome your comments, and Happy Pride!

The Lush Art of Art Lush

Handmade gemstone pomegranate by Art Lush.

Art Lush is a queer, Jewish, Edinburgh-based artist who works with found materials. They describe their work as “Judeofuturism”: art using Jewish history and culture to imagine a future free from from “oppression, destruction, displacement and historical erasure.” Check out their online shop and their Instagram and this interview with Alma.

Stories and Silences” from the Forward Archives.

Pepi Littman, Yiddish Drag King

Forward archivist Chana Pollack compiled We’re here, we’re queer, we’re Yiddish, the venerable newspaper’s first “archival Pride march back in time.” The article features rare treasures from the archives celebrating LGBTQ “dignity, visibility and equality”—such as Yiddish drag king Pepi Littman.

The Multiplicity of Jewishness

How does queerness and transness affirm our Jewish roots?” Eighteen Jewish, queer or trans artists investigate this question in Queer at the Root, an eclectic virtual exhibition from the Miles Nadal JCC of Toronto.

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