Community Art
HEAL Plus NM gathered community members to describe what resiliency looks like for them. We convened four groups, LGBTQ+ older adults, LGBTQ+ young people, Bisexual/pansexual/queer people, and trans, nonbinary, and genderqueer people. We hired artist collaborators to be embedded in this conversation and creative process. From that the artists created the following prints.
Healing is In Your Hands
by Charlie Bahlke
Creating mental wellness for oneself can be a maze where one makes their own map. There are challenges and barriers, but also hope and community. It can be really hard, but “You’re Worth it.” Every life is valuable, and we encourage LGBTQ+ people to find mental health resources and providers on our Bright Spaces, Welcome Places directory.
This artwork was a collaborative process with our members meeting twice to brainstorm imagery and messaging that would speak to LGBTQ+ people. Artist, Charlie Bahlke prepared sketches, presented ideas, and synthesized feedback from our group to create this painting.
Charlie then collaborated with with Risolana to create the following prints for providers using a riso printer.
Providers can receive one print for free. Prints are also available to the public for purchase. Please contact us for more information.
Healing is in Your Hands (Riso Print 22” by 17” ) $20
You’re Worth it (Riso Print 8.5” by 11”) $5
You are Heard (Riso Print 8.5” by 11”) $5
Healthy, Free, and Proud
by Jave Cruz
Healthy, Free and Proud is a work of healing inspired by themes and imagery from conversations and collaborations from bisexual, pansexual, and queer community members. The figure is engaged in a self-embrace, celebrating self-acceptance and self-love. The flutter of butterfly wings symbolizes freedom of identity, freedom of expression, and the joy of being seen and heard. “Biangles,” the overlapping pink and blue triangles, represent the both/and existence of bisexuals and the diverse identities they straddle.
“The hope for this piece is to express safety, affirmation, and inclusiveness with art and imagery for queer/bisexual/pansexual people, specifically people of color who navigate the healthcare system” – Jave Cruz
Jave Cruz (pronouns they, them, their) is a non-binary, queer Xicanx, community-oriented visual artist who works primarily with painting, drawing and digital art.
This artwork is from Bright Spaces, Welcome Places: A health campaign supported by HEAL Plus NM and the New Mexico Department of Health to create understanding and affirmation of LGBTQ+ lives in healthcare settings.
Because We Lived, Because We Loved.
by Ilene Weiss
Because We Lived, Because We Loved commemorates the strength and resilience of older adult lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is inspired by themes and imagery from conversations and collaborations from the LGBTQ+ older adult community. The rainbow patterns and quilt like materiality speak to the history of LGBTQ+ older adults, such as the birth of the rainbow flag and the AIDS quilt which commemorates when LGBTQ+ lives were brought to the forefront of healthcare conversations. The prominent hands represent the strength of these older adults and the bright, smiling and slightly worn faces of the figures portray the pride in the work and the successes this community facilitated in the name of equal rights.
“One of the strongest messages I took away from the LGBTQ+ older adults community conversation was about survival and legacy.” ~ Ilene Weiss
Ilene Weiss (she, her, hers), mixed media artist, believes that as social creatures, we are products of our environments and our passions. Whenever possible she uses her creativity to support causes and communities she cares for. This piece was created to help make visible her own elder queer community.
This artwork is from Bright Spaces, Welcome Places: A health campaign supported by HEAL Plus NM and the New Mexico Department of Health to create understanding and affirmation of LGBTQ+ lives in healthcare settings.
A Place For You Here
by Haven Aragon
Vibrant colors and gathering of different bodies in A Place For You Here represents the importance Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Pansexual, Asexual, etc. youth place on optimism for the present and future. It is inspired by themes and imagery from conversations with LGBTQ+ youth community members. LGBTQ+ youth embrace the complexities of identity and these diverse bodies depict multiple genders, skin colors, body types and abilities. Various flags of the LGBTQ+ movement are incorporated into the colors, clothes, and imagery of the work to honor those that came before to make this diversity and optimism possible.
“Through love, health, and diversity our community will continue to flourish for generations to come. The more we open our hearts to one another, the more plentiful we become in community, wellness, and acceptance.” – Haven Aragon.
Haven Aragon (he/him/his) is a transmasculine digital and traditional artist who aspires to become a graphic novelist and tattoo artist.
This artwork is from Bright Spaces, Welcome Places: A health campaign supported by HEAL Plus NM and the New Mexico Department of Health to create understanding and affirmation of LGBTQ+ lives in healthcare settings.
Inside, Out
by Dee Ross-Reed
Inside, Outside is a self-portrait, inspired by themes and imagery from conversations and collaborations with transgender, genderqueer, and gender non-binary community members. It is a look into the queer world of the ocean, where gender-transcending creatures reflect complex and fluid experiences of gender diverse communities. For example, male seahorses carry their offspring through pregnancy, and jellyfish may change their sex during the lifespan. In Inside, Outside, the figure exists on both sides of a border separating open air space with the underwater, symbolizing how transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming individuals can occupy multiple genders at once, resulting in feelings of being half-in, half-out of spaces. The full moon and sunlight coming into the sea represent hope for queer communities and their families.
“Gender is so much more than the binary that we are asked to accept. The magic is in our complexity. I imagine a world where we are free and encouraged to show up for one another with the fullness of all of our identities. ” ~Dee Ross-Reed
Dee Ross-Reed (they/them/theirs) is a queer, non-binary person who expresses their creativity through storytelling, digital art, social science research, and data visualization.
This artwork is from Bright Spaces, Welcome Places: A health campaign supported by HEAL Plus NM and the New Mexico Department of Health to create understanding and affirmation of LGBTQ+ lives in healthcare settings.
