Photo exhibit captures LGBTQ community needs, strengths

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A University of Louisville Kent School of Social Work research photo exhibit shows the daily needs and strengths of the LGBTQ community from its own perspective.

“These Are Our Lives” is on display at North Lime Coffee & Donuts, 228 S. 7th St., through Aug. 19. Researchers will present their findings from the project July 19 beginning at 4 p.m. at the shop.

The photos were taken in 2018 by eight members of the Louisville house-ball and drag communities who photographed different topics over three weeks. Topics included daily life, strengths and needs/concerns.

“Each week they presented their pictures to the group and discussed how they represented the topic for the week,” said Emma Sterrett-Hong, associate professor and director of the Couple and Family Therapy Program at the Kent School. “The research team analyzed the discussion transcripts to look for common themes related to both strengths (e.g., validation, community relationships, resilience) and needs (e.g., food insecurity, homelessness, substance use).”

The exhibit is co-hosted by Sweet Evening Breeze Inc., a nonprofit that addresses LGBTQ youth and young adult homelessness. The project, the House-Ball & Drag Scenes Strengths & Needs Assessment Project (B SNAP), was grant-funded by UofL’s Cooperative Consortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research. Collaborators were Maurice Gattis, Kent School assistant professor; Kaila Story, associate professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies; Ryan Combs, assistant professor, School of Public Health & Information Sciences (SPHIS); and Theodore Edmonds, assistant professor, SPHIS.

For more information, contact Sterrett-Hong at emma.sterrett@louisville.edu.

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Editors: Attached photo from the exhibit shows a headpiece created by a performer.