Though Trans Day of Resilience — which takes place every year on November 20 to mourn trans individuals murdered by acts of violence — was Friday, the Haight Street Art Center's newest exhibit honoring BIPOC trans people will be on display until January 31.
Thirty-seven. That's the number of trans and gender-nonconforming people who have lost their lives this year, thus far.
And it's a figure that's remained steady, year after year. The past 36 months have seen record-high numbers for trans people killed, particularly those belonging to Black and Brown communities, due to what the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has described as "an epidemic of violence."
Trans people of color deserve a world of safety, support and love. Imagine and build this world with us through @FwdTogether’s Trans Day of Resilience project. Dive into the art and poetry at https://t.co/i14SsBIIDI #TDoR2020 #BlackTransLivesMatter 3/3
— BAJI (@BAJItweet) November 20, 2020
The Haight Street Art Center, an independent SF gallery known for providing poster artists with a space to showcase their work, revealed their Trans Resilience is Powerful exhibit Friday to commemorate Trans Day of Resilience — and turn collective mourning into an opportunity for "radical imagining."
Created in collaboration with Forward Together, a human rights nonprofit located in Oakland, and the organization's artist-in-residence Micah Bazant, Trans Resilience is Powerful evokes themes of absolute acceptance, beauty, and kindness through an array of poser art and timely signage. The commissioned pieces — all of which were created from 2015 to 2020 by more than a dozen participating artists (like Mojuicy, Colin Laurel, and Amir Kahdar) — celebrate the indomitable spirit of trans folk, who time and time again, help steer the greater population toward a more inclusive, ungendered future.
The display will run until January 31 and is free and open to the public from 9 a.m to 7 p.m, Monday through Sunday, at the Haight Street Art Center's Garden Gallery at 215 Haight Street.
To read more about the center, exhibit, and these featured artists, visit haightstreetart.org/blogs/news/trans-resilience-is-powerful.
Many of the works, too, are for sale and available to digitally download at www.tdor.co; physical copies of them can be purchased by contacting [email protected].
Image: Courtesy of Instagram via @amir.khadar
