Alex DiFrancesco is the author of the dystopian novel All City, the story collection reflecting trans realities Transmutation, and the memoir Breaking the Curse (2024). They are the recipient of numerous awards and have served as assistant editor for Sundress Publications and edited LGBTQIA+ nonfiction for Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Their work has appeared in Tin House, Electric Literature, Pacific Standard, Eater, and Vol. 1 Brooklyn, among others. DiFrancesco lives in Philadelphia.

Åsa Johannesson is an artist working across photography, writing, and video, exploring queer vocabularies in imagery and text. She has exhibited internationally, and written several books, including the research monograph Queer Methodology for Photography. Åsa’s prose poetry collection And I wanted to see it: my queerness in the best light is forthcoming. Åsa is based in London, UK and her hometown Växjö, Sweden. https://www.asajohannesson.com/

Zeek Taylor is a prominent LGBTQ+ trailblazer who married his longtime partner, Dick Titus, on May 10, 2014, after 42 years together, and became the first legal same-sex male couple to be married in the American South, an event that drew international media attention. 

Zeek is also an award-winning American painter, storyteller, and recipient of the prestigious Arkansas Governor's Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement. Zeek lives and maintains a studio in the historic art colony of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

*Thank you for your patience with my technical complications during this recording. 

Jim Obergefell is an American civil rights activist who was the lead plaintiff in the 2015 United States Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage throughout the United States. Listen in as he describes the love of his life, John Arthur, and how his fight continues to inspire generations of people seeking justice and equality. 

Mario Elías is a multidisciplinary artist of Cuban and Syrian descent based in Chicago. His work spans fiction, nonfiction, photography, painting, and printmaking, often exploring themes of identity, memory, and cultural inheritance. His book Queering the Male Gaze reimagined masterpieces of the classical and modern canon through essays and self-portraiture, giving voice to the often-overlooked queer and female figures who shaped them. His portrait collection Perennial Beauty was the inaugural show for Golden Gate University's Social Impact Artist Series. He is the founder of The KindaSuper Project, a philanthropic initiative offering free photography and video services to underserved communities. His debut novel Beloved Disciples comes out May 12th via Amble Press.

Amina Cruz is a photographer known for capturing queer punk scenes within the Latino community and breaking cultural barriers with her work. Cruz captures the intimate moments shared between queer folk and is trying to expand the Latino identity with their work. 
@aminacruz.studio 
www.aminacruz.com/

Judy Giera is an artist, arts worker, and the Associate Director of Collections for the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in New York City, which is one of the only collecting institutions in the world dedicated to LGBTQ+ art and artists. In addition to her work managing the museum's collection of 30,000 objects, she has curated multiple projects for the museum. You can learn more about Judy at: judygiera.com

K.M. Soehnlein is an author, activist, and educator who discusses the challenges that the LGBTQ+ community faces today. Enjoy this week's encore episode, which provides a hint at the topic of our upcoming exhibition. 

Enjoy this episode with our Empowerment Grant winner, Monica Rodriguez. Monica "Mo" is a Chicago-born multidisciplinary artist whose work centers on healing, transformation, and emotional evolution through creative practice. Raised in a family where creativity was deeply valued, she has been making art for as long as she can remember, using it as a way to process experience, move through challenges, and understand herself more deeply. @by.mo.mo  by-mo.com

Stephanie Lampkin, PhD, is the Curator at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has 12+ years of experience specializing in museum collections, museum education, exhibitions, and historical interpretation. Her research examines the early Black and indigenous histories of Florida, the southbound routes to freedom, and geographies of freedom. Enjoy this engaging conversation.