Artist Rachel Wilkins has unveiled a new series of portraits entitled “Shoulders of Giants” a 30 piece multi-media body of work honoring the advocates, change-makers & unsung heroes of our LGBTQ movement with 50% of the sales to benefit the National LGBTQ Task Force. The series of work features Bayard Rustin, Edie Windsor, Marsha P. Johnson, Harvey Milk & also chronicles the lesser-known voices such as Michael Dillon the first trans man to medically transition & Barbara Gittings the lesbian activist who in 1958 organized the first Daughters of Bilitis in NYC. The 30 piece collection acknowledging one work for each day of LGBTQ Pride month is paired with a personal letter of thanks from a member of the LGBTQ community that expresses their gratitude & documents how they were personally affected by their hero’s contribution. Rachel Wilkins stated, “I had this yearning for a deeper understanding of what came before. What, or who enabled me to live my life so freely today as an out gay woman. As my research unfolded I came to understand that there was a great deal of diversity & intersectionality represented among those that fought to push us forward. Voices & faces that were new to me. I felt both a moral & creative responsibility to get to know them & to honor them.” Wilkins is originally from the UK & currently resides in New Jersey with her wife. It was the global pandemic that brought her back to the studio & led her to create this particular body of work. I talked to Walter Naegle about his relationship with Bayard Rustin, the master strategist best remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington in this exclusive audio interview.
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For More Info: rachel-wilkins.com
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