Spectrum of Hope
What We See at the End of the Rainbow
October 15, 2021
Pavilion at the Durham Arts Council
Third Friday Reception, 6-8pm
Elements of this pop-up exhibit will be viewable from outside the building through November 27
Spectrum of Hope: What We See at the End of the Rainbow is a multi-generational visual conversation facilitated by community artist Liz Williams that engaged LGBTQIA+ folks in the Triangle and beyond. This community-based art project asked the question “what vision do you have for the future individually, and collectively?”.
Launched in response to the isolation experienced before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, Liz Williams answered a call to action to support her LGBTQA community. Through online gatherings and meetups, we found ways to express hope and to move beyond isolation into a rich collaborative engagement. Liz Williams shaped those conversations into a multi-media project where collaborators were invited to contribute objects, words, and images that inspire hope. Together they created a ritual of hope.
The resulting photograph, comprised of multilayered portraits, act as a proud and bold testament to the transformative power of creativity. Together the individual portraits contribute to a community vision board that aspires towards a better future for LGBTQIA+ folks and the world at large.
Spectrum of Hope: What We See at the End of the Rainbow, will be on view as a complementary element of Pieces of Light. Pieces of Light is a collaborative partnership between the Six Feet Photography Project, Tom Rankin (Professor of the Practice of Art and Director, MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts at Duke University), and Durham Arts Council. The Pieces of Light exhibition is generously funded by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation and Click! Photography Festival. A commemorative catalog of this exhibition was made possible through the invaluable funding provided by Duke Arts (the Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts).