BENGALURU: Vishnu Janardan is a happy person these days. His parents don’t just accept his identity as a gay man but also visited the Queer & Allies Art Fest at The Humming Tree, Indiranagar, where the scientist had displayed his art works centred around the pride movement.
“These platforms help us sensitise others who are not still accepting the community,” said Janardan, who works at National Centre for Biological Sciences. He looked back at his journey of struggle in gaining acceptance from his family and proudly added, “Today, my parents came to this fest and enjoyed the talent and creativity of our community.”
Other artistes at the fest included Vishnu, Naiya P, Akhila H and Jeetin Rangher, who all work with art studio Aikya.
The showcase of 25 art works included a portray of Alan Turning, a British scientist who was prosecuted in 1952 for homosexual acts and other works of the pride parade and acrylic paints in different rainbow colours.
Shakti Rupa, a city-based singer and transwoman, agreed with Vishnu that queer art festivals give them more visibility.
“It’s been two years since I’m performing as a transwoman. These spaces help us celebrate our creativity and the love we share. Because when our family rejects us, the support of our partners helps us move forward,” added Shakti.
The event also had talks on workplace inclusion and mental health, storytelling sessions, film screenings, a queer bazaar, poetry recitals and a drag performance. Anirudh, a human rights activist and queer social worker, pointed out that workplace inclusion is not benefiting the LGBTQ+ community.
“We need to first erase the idea of exclusion in the name of gender. We need to consider the diversity of each individual. Apart from this, we also have some actionable demands like building mixed-gender toilets and same sex partner benefits in insurance policies.” He added that art festivals too need to be accessible to everyone.
“Bengaluru has a lot of venues where same sex couples and queer community can express their views and talent. But it is not reaching out to the working class or it just concentrates on the upper strata of society.”
The one-day festival was organised by Mist, an online collective of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activists from all over India. The queer bazaar saw handicrafts, such as friendship bands, candles and home decor, made by the LGBTQ+ community.
The event, which was attended by 250 people, wound up with a powerful performance by drag queen Cumsin Haseena (Ashish Chopra).