Music has always been centered around heterocentricity and has been dominated by males. Queer representation in media, in every medium, has been overwritten by the straight narratives of white men confessing their love to the beautiful woman filled with eurocentric beauty standards. Queer artists are on the rise and are stopping at nothing to spread their love of music.
Amythyst Kiah
Amythyst Kiah made her debut into the music scene in 2013, with her album “Dig”. Amethyst grew up in East Tennessee, in proximity to the Appalachian mountains. She crosses several genres and mashes them into musical genius; country-blues, folk music, and indie rock. She defines herself through music so no one else can do it for her. Kiah said in an interview with New York Times that when she switched to her arts school, “I met the first Black nerds that I ever met in my life. On top of that, I was able to be openly gay and literally no one cared.” Through navigating the trauma of her mother’s death and social anxiety, she emerges with beautiful music and lyrics that speak for her life and to her audience. To listen to her music, visit Amythyst Kiah on any streaming platform.
Naima Green
Naima Green is a New-York based photographer who captures people of color in tranquil spaces. In an interview with Office Magazine, Naima said, “I wanted these photographs to assert and insert our presence in these tranquil landscapes, to interrupt the predominant narratives about people of color surrounded by urban decay.” She has also created a card deck titled Pur-Suit that includes photos of queer womxn, trans, and non-binary people. To view Pur-Suit, click here.
Hernan Bas
Hernan Bas is a Detroit-based painter who depicts androgynous males and small groups that are purely whimsical. Describing his paintings on his website, “Whether confined to the intimacy of a genre scene or lost in the vertigo of a dense, lush, romantic landscape, they inhabit a fantasized world of implicit eroticism and ambiguous sensuality.” To view some of his works he exhibited, click here, his works can also be found on the Perrotin website, linked above.
Oreet Ashery
Oreet Ashery is a London-based artist who works with varying mediums such as video, live art, 2-D imagery, and so much more. Their work explores the topics of gender, sexuality, and different political motives/topics. “Misbehaving Bodies” is one of their most recent exhibitions and it encompasses “untypical” bodies through the lens of illness. She presents these political issues in ways that are more expressive than any written piece you can read. To view their works, visit their website here.
Zanele Muholi
Zanele Muholi is an acclaimed photographer, known for their approach to the LGBTQIA+ community in South Africa. They have created collections of LGBTQIA+ folks, including the non-binary community. “Brave Beauties” explores the empowerment of non-binary and transgender peoples. “Somnyama Ngonyama”, which translates to “Hail the Dark Lioness”, is a collection where Muholi is focused on. These pictures reflect on the politics of sexuality, racism, and Eurocentrism. To view her work, click here.