Something Queer at the Library - Art Lecture

The New Mexico Museum of Art's Head of Curatorial Affairs, Christian Waguespack will discuss the museum's current exhibit, Out West: Gay and Lesbian Artists in the Southwest 1900-1969.  

Out West will be on exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Art now through September 2, 2024.  To gain free admission to the museum for up to 6 people, check out either of our museum passes - the STEP Pass or the New Mexico Family Pass.

About the Exhibit:

Out West surveys the work of gay and lesbian artists in the American Southwest from the early twentieth century through the Stonewall Riots of 1969, when the face of queer representation changed dramatically in the United States. While some artists built lives for themselves in states less welcoming to queer people, other areas, including northern New Mexico promised freedom and a sense of community denied to them elsewhere. Queer communities played a significant role in developing the art communities throughout this region, although this influence is rarely acknowledged.

Out West recognizes the contributions of gay and lesbian artists to the history of modern art in the Southwest. Despite social stigmas of the time certain communities in the Southwest offered a safe space for early queer artists to live unhampered by the stigmas and social restrictions present in other parts of the country. This exhibition explores the influential careers of LGBTQ artists, including Cady Wells, Marsden Hartley, Russel Cheney, and Agnes Sims in the Southwest and how their legacy remains a vital part of Southwestern cultural history.

About the Speaker:

Christian Waguespack is Head of Curatorial Affairs at the New Mexico Museum of Art and has served as Curator of 20th Century Art there since 2017 where he has organized over a dozen exhibitions and conducts research on the Museum’s collection focusing on modern art, and art of the American Southwest and has lectured widely on various aspects of American Modernism and Southwest art history across the country. His exhibitions at the New Mexico Museum of Art have included broad surveys of southwestern art history, modern and contemporary American art, and deep dives into the careers of historic artists and art groups from the area.