WHAT: Opening reception
WHEN: Friday, July 6, 2012 from 5:30-7:30pm - in conjunction with the First Friday ArtWalk
WHERE: The Cathedral of St. Paul, 2 Cherry Street, Burlington.
This event is free and open to the public. The exhibit can also be viewed during the Cathedral’s regular July hours – Tuesday through Friday, 10am to 4pm.
Pride Vermont, Integrity VT Mount July Exhibit Honoring LGBT Saints, Heroes, and Martyrs
BURLINGTON, Vt – Pride Vermont and Integrity VT announced today the mounting of an art exhibition entitled “Prophetic Vision, Courageous Lives: LGBT Saints, Heroes & Martyrs.” The show, on display during the month of July at the Cathedral of St. Paul, celebrates LGBT persons and their straight allies throughout history – some well-known, others relatively little-known – who have strived, in the face of adversity and even death, to make the world a better, fairer, and more embracing place. Vermont artist Judith McManis, who created the show, serves as its curator.
“As an artist and an ally of the LGBTQ community, I am proud to be teaming up with St. Paul’s Cathedral, Pride Vermont, and Integrity VT to honor some of the heroes of the LGBT community,” said McManis. “However, these heroes’ work is by no means complete. This exhibit is a continuum, a trajectory, relating some of the battles of the past in order to give energy and inspiration to those who continue in the cause of equality.”
An opening reception for the show will be held on Friday, July 6, 2012 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Burlington, 2 Cherry Street, in conjunction with the First Friday ArtWalk. This event is free and open to the public. The exhibit can also be viewed during the Cathedral’s regular July hours – Tuesday through Friday, 10am to 4pm.
“All equality-minded individuals – regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, spiritual or religious affiliation, or lack thereof – are warmly invited and strongly encouraged to view this important exhibition,” said Ernie Hathaway, co-curator of shows at St. Paul’s Cathedral. “The diverse array of heroes and stories portrayed here will enlighten some, energize others, and inspire all.”
Depicted in the exhibition are a wide variety of saints, heroes, and martyrs including David Kato, the Ugandan LGBT rights activist brutally murdered in 2011; Fr. Mychal Judge, a gay Franciscan priest who died in New York on 9/11 after administering last rites to a firefighter; Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States who was assassinated in 1978; and Vermont’s Beth Robinson, who co-founded the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, served as co-counsel on the landmark Baker v. Vermont case, and now sits on the Vermont Supreme Court.
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Pride Vermont is the statewide pride festival for Vermont’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and ally community. Equality-minded Vermonters gather to celebrate our state for its safe, healthy, empowering community that embraces all of life’s colors. We take Pride in Vermont’s progress towards equality and want Vermonters to know that being queer in Vermont is something worth celebrating. This year’s festivities consist of a week of activities culminating in the Annual VGSA Pride Cruise on September 21 and the Pride Vermont Parade, Festival, and Northern Decadence Food Expo on September 22.
