by GoggleWorks Center for the Arts
Reading Pride Celebration (RPC) and GoggleWorks Center for the Arts announce the call for artists for their second LGBTQ+ Art Showcase in Reading, PA. The exhibition, in celebration of Pride month, will be held on the second floor at the Schmidt Gallery from May 30 through June 27 and is open to all local LGBTQ+ artists in different media.
The showcase aims to promote and celebrate the artistic talents of the local LGBTQ+ community of Berks and surrounding counties and to create a platform for their voices to be heard. The exhibition is open to all forms of art, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography, and mixed media. This year, the showcase will be a juried art show, and artists will have the opportunity to win up to $250 for the best piece.
“Visibility is more important than ever,” said RPC Executive Director Enrique Castro, Jr. “The art show highlights LGBTQ+ artists, providing that much-needed visibility. Art often interprets something through the artist’s eyes. This show provides a platform to display that interpretation to the general public.”
Submissions are open through April 28, 2024, and artists are encouraged to submit their applications through Open Call! LGBTQ+ Art Showcase – GoggleWorks.
“We are excited to have the LGBTQ+ Art Showcase at GoggleWorks again this year. This show is a reminder of the strength found in unity and the transformative power of art to challenge, inspire, and heal,” said Jesse Futter, Marketing Director at GoggleWorks Center for the Arts. “Last year, the gallery was filled with so many vibrant colors and deep emotions, we cannot wait to see what is submitted this year.”
The exhibition is open to all levels of artists, from emerging to established, and the pieces will be selected by RPC’s Art Committee. Selected artists will be notified by May 7, 2024, and required to deliver their artwork to the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts at 201 Washington St., Reading, by May 26, 2024.
Awards will be presented during the reception to be held on June 9, from 3-5 p.m., at the gallery.
For more information, please contact [email protected] or (610) 457-1960.
Founded in 2006, Reading Pride Celebration has the mission to celebrate diversity in the LGBTQ+ community of Greater Reading. RPC is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by building a community that embraces and supports differences and seeks to eliminate racial oppression, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and other oppression.
Located in downtown Reading, PA, GoggleWorks operates in a former goggle factory and is composed of 145,000 square feet of creative space. GoggleWorks offers year-round arts education, including workshops, classes, and visiting artists; community outreach programs; a summer residency; youth programs and camps; 35 on-site studio artists; the Albert and Eunice Boscov theater; three galleries for exhibitions; the Berks Launchbox maker space; and 16 communal learning environments, including hot glass, wood, printmaking, warm glass, metals, ceramics, photography, and urban gardens. More at goggleworks.org.
