Sister Hold On: Reclaiming Third World Lesbian Imaginaries
Eastside Arts Alliance + Bay Area Lesbian Archives presents...
Sister Hold On: Reclaiming Third World Lesbian Imaginaries
September 19 - December 14, 2024
This exhibition is a journey through time, space, and the legacies of Third World lesbian movements. It invites us to step into the continuum of history where love, struggle, and liberation coexist. Here, Third World lesbians are future-bearers, creating new paths through the visionary act of future-building and space-keeping.
Anchored in the archival treasures of the Bay Area Lesbian Archives, Sister Hold On is not a retrospective but a remix of past, present, and future. It asks: How do we locate ourselves in the ongoing fight for freedom, and what does it mean to collectively create spaces that preserve our stories, joy, and survival as lesbians of color, while remaining conscious of the ongoing dynamics of structural oppression?
This exhibition collapses time, using historical ephemera to guide our reimagining of a world where the legacies of colonialism and dispossession no longer define our embodied existence. It is a call to action—not only to honor those who came before us, but to recognize our own roles as architects of a liberated future
Artists Malaya Tuyay and Shreya Shankar worked with the archive to create transformative works that connect the past and future of Third World lesbian movements, reigniting their energy in the present.
As you move through the space, you are encouraged to engage with these layered histories. The works are portals—collaged, painted, and constructed—to the future world lesbians have always imagined. They are speculative and grounded, rooted in place but stretching far beyond. Each element is an invitation to connect with the labor of love and liberation that shapes the present and demands our participation in building the future where we are all free to be ourselves. This exhibit is meant to inspire a renewed commitment to the lifelong struggle against the idea that those who seek freedom from boundaries and labels are considered "other."
Here, the we—the collective—is everything. It is about the labor of creating Third Spaces where we can thrive, spaces where legacies are honored, where new narratives can be written, and where the resilience of our communities breathes life into every wall, every image, every story.
Sister Hold On is more than an exhibition; it is a practice of remembrance, a gathering place for visionaries, and a portal into the futures we are collectively creating for the total liberation of oppressed masses, grounded in a Third World lesbian approach to social complete transformation.
Programming
Fri, September 20, Opening Reception, 6:30pm-9:00pm (doors 6:00pm)
Fri, October 18, Revisiting Black Lesbian Legacies in conversation with Dr. Courtney Desiree Morris & Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, 6:30pm
Fri, November 15, Mapping Our Legacies Community Archiving Day, 2:00pm-5:00pm
Fri, November 15, Remembering Our Power: Intergenerational Panel on Contemporary Struggles, 6:00pm-8:00p
Fri, December 13, Closing Reception, 6:30pm-9:00pm (doors 6:00pm)
