Showcasing never-before-seen materials from the newly-cataloged collections at ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, Our Patch: LGBTQ+ Life from Cradle to Grave is One Institute’s tribute to the diverse yet deeply intertwined histories of LGBTQ+ community care and movement-building in Los Angeles. The archival ephemera on display — including photographs, videos, oral histories, printed matter, correspondence, and artist books — will provide insight into the multifaceted organizing strategies and care practices undertaken by LGBTQ+ activists at every stage of life, from youth to old age. 

Our Patch: LGBTQ+ Life from Cradle to Grave will be on view at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Advocate & Gochis Galleries from September 29-October 30, 2024.

The exhibition will open with a ticketed reception on Sunday, September 29, 2024, 5-8 p.m. at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Advocate & Gochis Galleries and courtyard. The reception will begin with a special VIP Reception from 5-6 p.m. and will open to General Admission ticketholders from 6-8 p.m.

The VIP Reception will feature an open bar and hor d’ouevres, alongside a special performance by House of LaBeija. The General Reception will include walkthroughs of the exhibition with the curators. Many of this year’s participating artists, activists, and community leaders will also be in attendance.

Just announced: Our Patch will close with “Drag History with Jean Decay,” a special presentation and performance that explores what it means to express the totality of Queer experience with what is archived and unearthed.

The event will take place on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 from 6-6:45 p.m. at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Advocate & Gochis Galleries and will be visitors’ last chance to view the exhibition before it closes.

This exhibition is suitable for all ages.

Curators

Andy Campbell is an art and design historian, critic, and curator whose work addresses the varied intersections of communities and archives. He is the author of Bound Together: Leather, Sex, Archives, and Contemporary Art (Manchester University Press, 2020) and Queer X Design: 50 Years of Signs, Symbols, Banners, Logos, and Graphic Art of LGBTQ (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2019). With Amelia Jones he co-edited the catalog Queer Communion: Ron Athey (Intellect, 2020) — named one of the “Best Art Books” of 2020 by The New York Times — and with Chelsea Weathers co-edited Jennifer West: Media Archaeology (Radius, 2022). Current projects include the survey exhibition, Susan Silton: Diving Into the Wreck (opening at The Blaffer Museum in Houston, 2026) and a book manuscript considering poverty and artistic practice in the United States. Campbell is Associate Professor and Chair of Critical Studies at USC’s Roski School of Art and Design, and Interim Director of the Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere program. 

Jessica Carolina González is an interdisciplinary artist from Houston, TX, based in Los Angeles, CA. Archival practices and archives of the bloodline are her tools for storytelling and critique in a post-colonial landscape. From a Central American diasporic perspective, she confronts the Estadounidense understanding of sociopolitical issues. González has been exhibited by The Printing Museum, Mulvane Art Museum, and Law Warschaw Gallery among others. She was an invited panelist for the “Latino Art Now!” symposium and curated In the Sun at The Station Museum. González was awarded the first prize for the juried exhibition Withstand at the Holocaust Museum Houston, the Idea Fund by the Andy Warhol Foundation, and was a finalist for the Houston Artadia Award. González has an MFA in Art from the University of Southern California, BFA in Photography/Digital Media, BA in World Cultures and Literatures, and Minor in Spanish from the University of Houston.

Robert Brady is a curator, performer, and an M.A. candidate in the Curatorial Practices and the Public Sphere program at the University of Southern California, Roski School of Art and Design. He earned his B.A. in Art History with Summa Cum Laude honors from California State University, Los Angeles, where he served as the Vice President of the Art History Society. He completed a summer 2024 internship at Gagosian Gallery. His curatorial practice examines lost and forgotten histories of the LGBTQ+ community in contemporary art and its traces in the archive.

Our Patch: LGBTQ+ Life from Cradle to Grave is organized by One Institute and co-presented with the Los Angeles LGBT Center as part of the Circa: Queer Histories Festival 2024, presented by One Institute. The exhibition is co-curated by Andy Campbell, Jessica Carolina González, and Robert Brady. Made possible in part through an arts grant from the City of West Hollywood.

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  The Los Angeles LGBT Center is a safe and welcoming place where the LGBTQ+ community finds help, hope, and support when it is needed the most.

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  Founded in 1952, One Institute is the oldest active LGBTQ+ organization in the country and the proud presenters of Circa: Queer Histories Festival. It's mission is to elevate queer and trans history and embrace emerging stories through collaborative education, arts, and cultural programs.

  Each year, One Institute produces one-of-a-kind exhibitions and public programs connecting LGBTQ+ history and contemporary culture to effect social change. Through unique K-12 teacher trainings, lesson plans, and youth mentorship programs, One empowers the next generation of teachers and students bringing queer history into classrooms and communities. As the independent community partner of ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, One Institute helps promote the largest collection of LGBTQ+ materials in the world.