Hudson County Community College New Exhibition, ‘A World Where We Belong,’ Celebrates Self-Understanding and Belonging
March 3, 2017
March 3, 2017, Jersey City, NJ – Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Department of Cultural Affairs will honor the memory of LGBTQIA+ advocate and longtime employee Georgia Brooks with a special exhibition titled, “A World Where We Belong.” The exhibition – which is part of the College’s Georgia Brooks Stonewall Celebration Project – features the work of 20 contemporary artists as well as artifacts from the Lesbian Herstory Archives.
“A World Where We Belong” may be viewed through April 19, 2017 in the College’s Benjamin J. Dineen, III and Dennis C. Hull Gallery, located on the top floor of the HCCC Library at 71 Sip Avenue in Jersey City (across from the Journal Square PATH Transportation Center). The exhibition is open to all and there is no charge for admission. There will be a reception and curators’ talk in conjunction with the exhibition on Tuesday evening, March 28 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Georgia Brooks worked at the College as Academic Lab Manager in the Information Technology Services Department for 25 years. Ms. Brooks came to New York at the age of 18, leaving behind life in a small, rural area of Georgia, and sought validation that she was not alone with the same-sex feelings she was experiencing. What she encountered has been such for many others who find themselves outside the understanding and depiction of what is normal. Ms. Brooks went on to become an advocate and was also an advisor for the HCCC Gay-Straight Alliance. She passed away in November 2013, and is honored each year at the College by the Georgia Brooks Stonewall Celebration Project.
Curated by artist, curator, writer and arts administrator Arthur Bruso and artist, writer and curator Raymond E. Mingst, “A World Where We Belong” includes: the photography of Ka-Man Tse, Mikaela Klotz-Lungulov, Matt Jensen and others; self-portraits by Jonathan David Smyth; textile art by Sharela May Bonfield; wire drawing by Eric Rhein; and works by many others. Also included are artifacts from the vast holdings of the Lesbian Herstory Archives – t-shirts, pulp novels that have been described as “survival literature” – and buttons that document political action.
“A World Where We Belong” is sharing space with the exhibition “Quantum Overdrive!” – an energy-charged group of works by 11 women – which is also showing through April 19 as part of the College’s Women’s History Month celebration.
The HCCC Benjamin J. Dineen, III and Dennis C. Hull Gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (The Gallery is closed Sundays.)