The Fine Art Galleries at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center hosts art exhibits that celebrate LGBTQ+ artists and LGBTQ-themed art. Exhibits are professionally curated and each exhibit includes an artist reception.
We also host exhibits that bring LGBTQ+ history to life - featuring materials from the Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Archive, or hosted in partnership with external organizations.
Our current exhibit, "My Colors of Cancer," is a collection of paintings by Latina artist and breast cancer survivor Esther Maria Pagan, who lives in Monroe County.
Esther Maria Pagan is an artist and inspirational performer who uses her own brand of artistry through community activism and education. She gives strength to others sharing her own experiences creatively. As a poet, she embraces the opportunity to combine words, art and diversity to promote vision, education and culture. She conquers stigma to face humility with purpose.
The exhibit will be featured at the Fine Art Galleries at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center (522 W. Maple Street at Bayard Rustin Way, Allentown, PA 18101) through January 28.
About the artist:
Esther Maria Pagan was born in Youngstown, Ohio, but raised in the Bronx. She is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Parsons School of Design, and The Swedish Institute. She found her passion to be working with her hands to create and heal. She attended and completed studies at The Swedish Institute, often referred as the "Harvard of massage schools." In 1999, her healing path took her to become a New York State-licensed massage therapist. Her creative side allowed her to develop the skills to be a certified art handler via a grant awarded by the Bronx Council of the Arts that was funded in part by The Municipal Art Society and Lincoln Center.
Her artistic energy was exhibited in 2010 and the fall of 2013 at the Longwood Gallery at Hostos Community College, when she had a autobiographical solo show dedicated to her personal experience with a breast cancer diagnosis. She opted for a bilateral mastectomy on October 17, 2012. The show entitled "My Colors of Cancer" was well reviewed and defined her giving spirit. It is also the subject that documents her experience and will be published along with her blog entries that explain the ten surgeries that were part of her cancer experience.
Esther also developed her poetic creativity when she was an active member of a poetry collective called Full Circle Ensemble. Her involvement gave her the opportunity to perform at the National Black Theatre of Harlem in 2015. The artistic documentation of her breast cancer in the visual, written, and as performance is a real part of who Esther is and strives to be. Her outreach as a survivor has resulted in her speaking to at-risk audiences, those experiencing cancer, and the families of those women who have had to deal with breast cancer. Her massage skill set has allowed her to literally have hands on with those who need it the most. She is also on the platform of healing her voice about trauma and domestic violence. As a mentor, she shares how you can collaborate together on this subject matter. She further enlightens you on her mission and cause by teaching art and poetry as tools for healing. Look at her YouTube performance with Healing Voices 1(800) Don’t Die. She continues to create and elevate awareness through her passion of art and performance. Her hands are her livelihood, as she has found her purpose.
This exhibit is sponsored by
Food at the reception is provided by
Our upcoming exhibit, "Butt I Couldn't Resist," is a collection of paintings by NYC artist, JJ Quinn.
The exhibit will be featured at the Fine Art Galleries at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center (522 W. Maple Street at Bayard Rustin Way, Allentown, PA 18101) through March 25th.
About the artist:
JJ Quinn is a trans, queer pop artist who lives and works in Manhattan, NY.
A midwestern transplant, he made the move to the city for all the reasons so many others do - to be immersed in the energy and opportunity only a place like NYC can offer.
An emerging artist in the scene - he’s known for his bold line-work, playful figures, and explosive color palette. His work explores what turns us on, what turns him on, bringing both pop and erotic art together in an approachable way.
Our upcoming exhibit, "Trans Stories Project," is a collection of images and stories of transgender and gender-expansive folk from Eastern Pennsylvania, brought to you by Eastern PA
Telling Trans Stories:
Fewer than 30% of the American public claims to know a transgender person. Eastern PA Trans Equity Project wants to change that.
Eastern PA Trans Equity Project has launched an effort to document the lives and stories of transgender and gender nonbinary folk in Eastern Pennsylvania. Most critically, we are not the ones telling the stories - we are allowing participants to do that for themselves through photos and words.
The goal of this project is to do more than simply document history. We want to humanize the transgender experience.
This Spring, in honor of the International Transgender Day of Visibility, you will be able to visit an exhibition that features the stories of transgender and gender-expansive folk from Eastern Pennsylvania. The exhibition runs from February 1st – March 25th.
Ultimately, all display materials will be housed, digitized, and preserved in the LGBT Community Archive at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.
Past fine art exhibits have featured:
- Mariette Pathy Allen
- Richard Begbie
- Lester Blum
- Liz Bradbury
- Jacinta Bunnell
- Hubert Davis
- Will Doughty
- Joe Dulude II
- Kailey Goodnuff
- Andrew Sedgwick Guth
- Andi Grunberg
- Ana M. Hamilton
- Britni Houser
- Katie Hovencamp
- Will Hübscher
- Arin Jayes
- Eric Lesh
- Rebecca Levi
- Gabriel Martinez
- Craig Matis
- Katie Molinaro
- Michelle Morgan
- Courtney Natt
- Jane S. Noel
- Cupid Ojala
- Esther Maria Pagan
- Vladimir Rios
- Cynthia Rodriguez
- Richard Rosato
- Gerald Simcoe
- Aiden Siobhan
- Anthony Smith Jr.
- Andrew Tomasino
Past history exhibits have includes:
- Pride Guides and the Early Years of Lehigh Valley Pride
- Secret Symphony: Gay Composers of Classical Music
- The Long Road to LGBTQ Equality in Pennsylvania