Gulfport Artists Show True Colors During Community Pride Activities

GULFPORT, FL — As Pride Month gets underway in June, downtown Gulfport is displaying its true colors during the second annual Gulfport Pride festivities starting this weekend in downtown Gulfport.

The events celebrate Gulfport's LGTBQ communities and benefit the state's only city-supported LGBTQ Resource Center inside the Gulfport Public Library, 5501 28th Ave. S.

'Moon Over Gulfport' takes the viewer to this fantasy world that I envisioned when I needed so terribly to find beauty in life again:" LGBTQIA artist Kiersty Long, ArtOut 2022 exhibitor.

Downtown Gulfport will host its second annual LGBTQ Resource Center Pride Event on Saturday, June 4, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. along Beach Boulevard South, which will be closed for the festivities.

It will include "Skunk Hugs" to benefit Florida Skunk Rescue, a walking parade with the Gulfport Gecko Amalgamated Marching Band at 1 p.m., the ArtOut Exhibit and more than 130 vendors and small all-inclusive businesses showcasing art, pride gear, services and resources that serve the community.

“We welcome all to celebrate our city's diversity with like-minded people," said Gulfport City Councilman Paul Ray.

While the day is about celebrating the LGBTQ community, it also features an exhibit that shows the pain LGBTQ artists endured during the pandemic and how they used their creativity to survive two of the most tumultuous years in the country's history.

The fifth annual ArtOut 2022: Queering the Pandemic is an international juried art exhibit featuring more than 70 artworks revealing the impact of COVID-19 on LGBTQ artists.

ArtOut 2022: Queering the Pandemic showcases works created by LGBTQ+ artists and allies that were inspired by life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary goal of the exhibit is to pay homage to the resilience, creativity, suffering and persistence of the artists during this difficult time. Click here to see the winners.

The exhibit officially opened Wednesday, the first day of Pride Month, and will continue through June 30 at the Gulfport Public Library.

Those attending the festivities are invited to view the exhibit from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and learn more about the challenges faced by the artists who produced this eclectic array of artwork ranging from wearable art to film.

Afterward, there will be a discussion on "What is Queer Art?" with Saudade Toxosi and Steve Glassman, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the library.

While stereotypes about artistic talent traditionally center on white males, whether gay or not, the talk will explore the challenges faced by women, particularly lesbians or bisexuals who are BIPOC.

Toxosi and Glassman will also discuss the unique talents and needs of transgender or LGBTQ artists across different media and whether the LGBTQ community is overrepresented in artistic fields and, if so, why that might be.

Among the works on display is "The Book of Covid:Unbound," a collage and mixed media work by Estelle L. Roberge.

"Like many of us, because of the pandemic, I spent much time alone, and because I became more cautious of my social associations, I intensely missed human interaction," Roberge said. "As an artist, it became difficult to focus on painting and I experienced various states of panic. But because I practice book binding, I had an empty text block in my studio and began to make collage entries, a visual diary that became an essential part of my artistic practice."

She said the process of making a collage involves cutting, measuring, tracing, drawing, coloring and pushing colored and patterned papers on a surface. She found the process calming and tranquil amid the chaos of the coronavirus.

"Slowly, I felt a renewed sense of well-being," she said. "Thus, my 'Book of Covid: Unbound,' through which I found balance and well-being, during a very insecure time."

Also on display is "In Bloom," an acrylic paint and colored pencil work by St. Petersburg artist Chad Jacobs.

"This is the first piece of art I created during lockdown after losing my job due to COVID-19," Jacobs said. "In the absence of my regular routines and seeing the people I would frequently associate with, I found solace in nature and the beauty of the world around me. Like the flora and fauna I encountered, I was able to grow and blossom at a time when life felt monotonous and devoid of color."

"In the absence of my regular routines and seeing the people I would frequently associate with, I found solace in nature and the beauty of the world around me. Like the flora and fauna I encountered, I was able to grow and blossom at a time when life felt monotonous and devoid of color:" St. Petersburg artist Chad Jacobs.

The pain that artist Kiersty Long endured during the pandemic and how her art gave her a renewed sense of purpose in life is evident in her work, "Moon Over Gulfport," an acrylic and spray paint on canvas.

"During the pandemic, my life was turned upside down," Long said. "My marriage to my wife ended, I moved to a new home where I lived alone, and I embarked on my new career path as a full-time artist."

It was a time of great pain but also great opportunity, she said.

"As a member of the LGBTQIA community, the pandemic was a tough reality," Long said. "I felt a true loss of community and the isolation became overwhelming. My typical meeting spaces to feel a sense of family and community were all on lock-down and the isolation was intense."

She said coped by drastically changing her life.

"I learned to meditate. Every night at sunset, I would walk to our bay, the Boca Ciega. I would sit in silence, looking at our beautiful bay and take in all of the amazing small miracles around me," she said. "As I learned to control my breath and meditate, I was transported to a magical version of our bay."

That magical version is captured in "Moon Over Gulfport."

"The full moon rising in front of the rainbow-colored galaxy gave me strength," Long said. "A magical mermaid creature swam the depths of the bay looking for companionship with the lonely occupants of the houseboats. A small shooting star darts across the sky representing hope for the future. 'Moon Over Gulfport' takes the viewer to this fantasy world that I envisioned when I needed so terribly to find beauty in life again."

One of the things Dr. Beverly Boyarsky loves about Gulfport is the freedom the community gives to be herself.

That sense of freedom is the subject of her photograph, "Love is Love," showing the pure joy of a lesbian couple freely dancing in the water at Gulfport Beach, "proving love endures and prevails each and every day," she said. "Love is love, no matter the gender."

"Being a part of the LGBTQ community has been difficult throughout my life," Boyarsky said. "Just when I thought we were succeeding in equality, life takes a drastic dive with the introduction of the Don’t Say Gay Bill."

"During COVID, we had to give up the entire life we knew," said Tampa Bay artist Bravery Moon. "People lost businesses, their jobs, their loved ones, and entered into a solitary twilight zone that seemed to never end."

In the midst of this turmoil, Moon came to the realization that it was better to be alone than be in a toxic relationship.

"During the pandemic, I left my marriage to a violent alcoholic and finally chose to be true to myself," she said. "It was a painful crossroads. I have lost many relationships by being my authentic self, yet I have never been happier or more free by choosing to do the hard thing."

Her arresting acrylic painting, "Hanged Woman," is a testament to that decision.

"In tarot, the hanged man traditionally means giving up, or letting go of something," she said.

Showing her newly found optimism and determination to be true to herself, she also painted "Love Your Selfie."

"During the pandemic, we all entered an intense time of solitude where we learned about the importance of self-care," said Moon.

The acrylic painting depicts a whimsical merman.

"Mermaids are symbolic of beauty and sexuality," Moon said. "There is dangerous power in accepting and flaunting our beauty. However, this radical acceptance can only come from facing all of our shadow parts in solitude and loving ourselves. The merman is both comfortable in his sexuality and his queerness. The moon behind him winks."

"For most of us, the primary challenge of the COVID-19 shut-down was isolation," said St. Petersburg artist Sue Lynn Johnson. "No socialization except the people we live with, and I live alone so it was me and my four walls. For many, our primary means of contact with the outer world became our devices — our mobile phones, our tablets, our computers."

Johnson said this reliance on electronics led her to paint one of the "best portraits I have every painted."

The mixed media portrait, "Overwhelmed By And With," is a self-portrait of Johnson using her cell phone.

Heart Coherence

Wasíl
2020, acrylic paint, powdered pigment, synthetic polymer, sharpie, on paper on shaped reclaimed housing insulation., 12"h. x 5"w. x 1"d, 2 lbs, Physical and Online Exhibit

"During the pandemic, I was sequestered in my apartment in downtown St. Pete," said St. Petersburg artist Wasil. "I discovered the possibility of the mind and the heart could be brought into coherent alignment. I found myself meditating and I trust I am being guided.

"'Heart Coherence,'" depicts the beginning of my change," Wasil said of the piece combinging acrylic paint, powdered pigment, synthetic polymer, Sharpie, on paper of shaped reclaimed housing insulation. "I believe there can be a shift in global consciousness. From one of instability and discord to one of balance, cooperation and enduring peace — my form of activism."

"Lyra Becoming," created with powdered pigments, synthetic polymer, gold leaf, acrylic paint, on shaped reclaimed housing insulation on canvas, "depicts the mystery of being human on planet Earth. And that we have guides that can help us."

Most of the artwork in the exhibit is for sale.

In addition to the 130 small businesses and exhibitors on hand throughout downtown Gulfport, permanent businesses throughout the city are showing their pride with banners in their windows, rainbow decorations and special pride offerings.

Among them, Stella’s Deli, 2914 Beach Blvd., Gulfport, will donate 10 percent of the day's sales to the nonprofit LGBTQ Resource Center. The full restaurant will close at 2 p.m. but Stella's will offer street food and pride drinks until 5 p.m. in front of the restaurant including loaded pierogies and jalapeno popper egg rolls.

Caddy's Gulfport, 3128 Beach Blvd. S., will celebrate with $15 bottomless mimosas from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and live music with Magic at 5 p.m.

Plus, Caddy's will sponsor the music at the Pride Gulfport South Stage including:

• Project Solar Flair at 10 a.m.
• Laura Shepherd at noon
• Gulfport's Drag by the Bay drag show with Janessa Brooks and Anna Filaxus at 2 p.m.
• Double M Band at 3 p.m.

On the North Stage, music will be sponsored by the Gulfport Merchants Chamber of Commerce, including:

• Marianne & The Professor at 11:30 a.m.
• String Rays will play favorite tunes at 2 p.m.
• Hot Tonic Orchestra is scheduled to perform mix swing, Latin jazz and popular music at 4 p.m.

Pride eats including offerings by Frios Gourmet Popsicles, AJs Homemade Goods, Ms Chile Pepper, Kona Ice, Moonlit Macarons, CBDB Kombucha Co., Connors Goody Bag, CakesbyKbella, Siesta Pops by Popcraft, Tru Philly Ices, Melonhead Enterprises, Papas Lemonade, Dentico's Tropical, Grill We Roll Fatty's, Treehouse BBQ, Chicken Salad Chick, Diggy Dogs, Pop Goes the Waffle and Looshkos.

Admission and parking at the Gulfport Pride events are complimentary.

The LGBTQ Resource Center extends its thanks to the city of Gulfport, SIK Promotions, LocalShops1 and all the volunteers who worked on this "coming out" from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The LGBTQ Resource Center is committed to promoting awareness of the diversity of experiences, contributions and needs of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer by providing educational, social and recreational opportunities through the Gulfport Public Library, including books, films, music, speakers, exhibitions and other events, as well as an online presence.

Watch the Youtube video to learn more about how the LGBTQ Resource Center came to be.