A HUG AWAY: a breathing temple of love

This project is a tribute to life, focused on Suicide Awareness and more specifically, the LGBTQ+ youth in living in Utah. My hope was to share the stories and perspectives of queer members of our beloved SLC community, and by doing so, immortalize them as a contemporary source of inspiration, power and empathy for others.

My goal was to invite my audience to consider the vital roles that respect and acceptance has in our queer youth lives’ and how these can shape and/or distort their identity, values, and self-worth. 

When words of support cannot be found the best way to connect with someone is through physical contact. Hugging has been an undervalued practice due to social stigma and now restricted due to COVID19. This project is dear to me, because I identify as a queer person but was raised under the narrow views of Catholicism in Mexico. I myself have struggled throughout my life to find acceptance for who I am without being shamed or fearful to live the life I was born to live. 

I was fortunate enough to count on a support system that has helped me flourish into who I am today. But on those days or nights, when it was too late for phone calls or my voice couldn’t be loud enough to call for help, art was there to keep me alive. Art has always helped me to heal and to confront hard questions, in order to find the answers that need to be heard. Art is the space and language that allows me to work with people whose stories need to be told. For this reason, my work is always displayed in an interactive way so my subjects could share their story directly with all of you.

Acknowledgments

I would like to extend my gratitude to the following sponsors and facilitators. This project is what it is today thanks to their encouragement, guidance, and support:

Civically Engaged Scholars (CES) program

George S. & Delores Doré Eccles Art Gallery

Salt Lake Community College

Thayne Center for Student Life, Leadership & Community Engagement

Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts

HEY, DON’T MISS OUT..

click on the sections below for more content!

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO BE PART OF THE SUICIDE PREVENTION EFFORTS FOR OUR QUEER YOUTH IN UTAH!

YOUR SUPPORT WILL HAVE A HUGE IMPACT IN OUR COMMUNITY, PLEASE SPREAD THE VOICE.