Da Vinci Art Alliance Presents SANCTUARY: An Exploration Of Queer Safe Havens

Da Vinci Art Alliance presents an exhibition of photographs, paintings, and installation works curated by the 2020 Da Vinci Fellow, Chelsey Luster. Sanctuary: An Exploration of Queer Safe Havens explores safe spaces and personal sanctuaries through Queer POC artworks. The exhibition will be on view physically by-appointment February 18 through March 7, 2021 at Da Vinci Art Alliance and as a recorded video tour on the Da Vinci Art Alliance website, davinciartalliance.org.

Sanctuary: An Exploration of Queer Safe Havens gives viewers an opportunity to look into the most vulnerable and intimate spaces that these artists create for themselves and their community. This exhibition presents the reality that we all build a space that protects us from the harshness and tragedies of the world; some of these spaces are filled with others that share our identities and sometimes we are in these sanctuaries alone. This reality brings us closer together in a time where we are divided.

This exhibition showcases the works of Rick Vaughn, Autumn Wallace, Dara Haskins, Pablo Alarcón Jr., Jungmok Lee Yi, and the members of the Somatic Stories Project.

"I wanted to curate an exhibition where queer artists of color could question, define, and critique the idea of a safe space. [After the pandemic struck], the work shifted towards each artist sharing parts of their own safe spaces rather than critiquing the larger idea. These artists are sharing some of their most vulnerable moments and allowing us to look into their safe havens. This show has transformed into something we all need right now to feel secure and connected."

- Chelsey Luster, Curator