On a bright, tree-lined lot in North Lawndale, a house decorated with LGBT- themed art sits waiting for the Pride crowds to come through.
No one is coming. It's 3:30 p.m. on a Sunday, and a discussion about how the gay community can support transgender people should have started a half hour ago. The talk was slotted as part of a monthlong gay and lesbian exhibit at Urban Art Retreat (UAR), but few artists even registered for the show and even fewer LGBT people came to see it.
Dianna C. Long, who oversees the daily operations at UAR, 1957 S. Spaulding, barely notices when no one shows up for the discussion.
"Every year that we've been in Chicago, we've done something for Pride," she said. Every year, few come to see the exhibit. However, Long and her team have continued to curate the show.
UAR, a kind of artist's oasis among the area's grassy lots, draws people from all walks into its tangled gardens and paint-splattered walls. It attracts neighborhood youth, the elderly, people with disabilities, people with HIV, people with mental illnesses and people without money. The second floor of the two-story residence houses female artists, some who barter for a place to stay and many who come from abroad.
In keeping with its mission to both cultivate and showcase the talents of under-represented communities, UAR has hosted shows themed around trauma survivors, housewives and feminism, artists with disabilities, outsider artists, people of color, and children artists. The organization holds classes and workshops for emerging artists as well as people who do not identify as artists at all.
The June Gay and Lesbian show exhibits both local and international artists. This year's exhibit features nine artists, most of them little-known. They are Brian Skinner, Kathleen Elizabeth, Sandra Taylor, Simone Bouyer, Kate Bronwyn, and Chicago-based artists Kenya Molette, Cindy Hall, Dianna C. Long, and P. Anthony, who died of HIV a few years ago. The show will run through Saturday, June 25, in the Liz Long Gallery.
Long said that few LGBT people know about UAR, but the organization has worked over the past two decades to appeal to queer people.
"This is a very friendly place for lesbian and gay people to come," Long said.
The phone rings incessantly at UAR. Mostly, it is telemarketers, Long said. However, every now and then someone calls needing advice on coming out as LGBT. A lesbian herself, Long spends hours on the phone on those days.
People with HIV also come to UAR for support. One day when Long was working outside in the garden, a young man came up to the fence and asked her for help. He just found out he had HIV, he said. He didn't know where to go. UAR volunteers took him to get services at a local YMCA.
Long said that UAR is a unique space for queer people. For one, its events and activities are free. They're also a queer-friendly alternative to the club scene. Long sometimes hosts gay gardening groups in the summer, and regular events tend to be alcohol-free, making the house a safe place for recovering alcoholics.
The next step Long said is figuring out how to support Chicago's transgender community. "I'm a big believer in saving yourself, but let's give some help," Long said. "So many trans people are not even in a position to do anything [to improve their situations]."
Long has wondered over the years why, when UAR, attracts such a diversity of communities, it tends not to see as many LGBT visitors. "We put together an art show, and usually it's pretty easy to get people to respond" she said. Not so with the LGBT community.
Part of that problem could be location. For people who live and play in Lake View, UAR is more than an hour commute by CTA. Also, some people think North Lawndale is unsafe, although Long rejects that thought as stereotype. UAR has collaborated successfully with some LGBT organizations in the past, including Affinity Community Services.
Long said that lack of involvement may mean a discontinuation of its gay and lesbian show next year because it attracts less attention than other shows. Regardless, Long said UAR will remain a queer-friendly space.
The Pride show will be open through June 25 between 11-4 p.m. each Saturday and by appointment. For more information, call 773-542-9126.
