Recently, the Art League of Long Island hosted the first of three LGBTQIA+ workshops taking place over the next few months. The classes, hosted by transgender artist Liv Cocozza, explore LGBTQIA+ art and literature from the past and going forward into the future.
The first class, titled “Queer History”, encouraged participants to reflect on Queer ancestors and historic liberation movements through a powerful presentation. Participants then learned to use the visual tools of their predecessors and contribute to sharing Queer experiences and movements in the future while making abstract and symbol-based works of art. This included the employment of paint, paint pens, and paper collage. Participants were encouraged to explore what they wanted to say about either their experiences, or the experience of other queer people, both historically and in the modern day.
The next workshop will take place on Saturday, May 20. This workshop, based on LGBTQIA+ words, will delve into how sharing words – in the form of poetry, fiction, even protest speech – has always been a tool to educate and share personal experiences within the Queer community. Students will read excerpts of Queer writers’ current and past, then make their own writing and visual books called zines.
The third and final workshop will take place on Saturday, June 10. In this workshop, attendees will learn about the current movers of Queer visual language and create a collaborative banner to commemorate participants’ knowledge and shared experiences.
In July, there will be an exhibition, during which participants will have the opportunity to showcase their creations from any of the workshops.
These workshops, while not solely for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, are gathering spaces of community and reflection. They are completely free and open to the public. All sessions take place in the Art League’s Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery. If you are interested in attending any of the remaining sessions, please register early as space is limited.
About the Instructor:
Liv Cocozza’s artwork explores the relationship between intimate queer experiences and the vulnerability of navigating medical and political spaces as a transgender person. At the same time, acknowledging the unspoken, un-archived, or misconstrued history of queerness. His work employs materials such as silicone, bed sheets, latex, and construction hardware. Their practice is highly influenced by queer political and art history, acknowledging the labor and efforts of those who came before him in queer and trans liberation. Liv aims to use the public paradigm of queerness, and the intimate experiences of queerness to form a path to a restorative future. Visit their website at https://www.livcocozza.com
– Additional information provided by the Art League website
