Favor - Mx. Gay's Creative Directn

Contents:

• PHOTOGRAPHER VCENT-NATASHA GAY TO BUT ‘THIS IS TRANS’ PORTRA SERI AT STONEWALL COLUMB
• VCENT-NATASHA GAY MAK EP HUMAN NNECTN ‘THIS IS TRANS’
• HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT
• ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

PHOTOGRAPHER VCENT-NATASHA GAY TO BUT ‘THIS IS TRANS’ PORTRA SERI AT STONEWALL COLUMB

Vcent-Natasha Gay — NV, for short — is the midst of a creative bloom. On November 19, Gay is set to showse a massive portra seri featurg trans and genr non-nformg people on the ma floor at Stonewall Columb. The seri — tled ‘This is Trans: A Photography Journey of Awarens and Love’ — was sparked by Gay’s own experience as a genrfluid person, and the breadth and plexy of personal inty among LGBTQ+ people.

Instead of a narrow, cis-centered visn of transns, Gay’s portras embrace the slippery, lawlsns herent genr, and the sgular importance of every queer person’s journey. “This [seri] is for the trans muny, by the trans muny, ” Gay said. For Gay, troducg their iends, fay and workers to their most thentic self was both joyful…and vastatg.

” Gay said. Not everyone Gay’s life passed the tt. When their birth fay disowned them, and they had to leave their longtime reer as an tor, Gay entered a perd of tense change and trospectn.

VCENT-NATASHA GAY MAK EP HUMAN NNECTN ‘THIS IS TRANS’

Wh the help of therapy and a support system of close iends, Gay fally began to fd joy their own genr inty and prentatn. Searchg for a creative outlet — and a way to nnect wh trans and genr non-nformg people — Gay turned to photography. “Durg the panmic, I picked up a mera as a way to tell stori, ” Gay said.

After workg wh a non-bary mol, Gay began thkg about a portra seri that would both document LGBTQ+ people and their stori, and provi a safe, joyo, queer and eply llaborative experience — somethg trans and genr non-nformg mols don’t often enunter while beg photographed. “I wanted to do this a different way, ” Gay said. “There are people of all different inti, all different pronouns, different backgrounds and ag, ” Gay said.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT

Those sgulari are precisely what Gay hop to celebrate, both wh the portra seri and the exhibn’s openg event.

At Stonewall Columb, Gay’s openg event will clu the screeng of an acpanyg documentary film directed by Gay, ee drag performanc and a silent ctn featurg LGBTQ+ artists om around the world. Gay’s portra seri will hang on the ma floor, featurg each subject’s pronouns and a sgle personal quote.

“Their nam will never appear, ” Gay said.

ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

Above all else, Gay hop their work documentg queer and trans people will help build safer, more joyful and more equable muni for trans people everywhere. “Before we e out we believe that we’re alone, but we’re not, ” Gay said. Vcent-Natasha Gay and their work, click here.

Photographer Vcent-Natasha Gay started work on “This Is Trans” Febary, ially tendg to document “what tly means to be trans, ” they said. Rather, ’s a human one, Gay lovgly pturg the imag of 74 transgenr dividuals om across the Uned Stat.

“It really is jt to show that, whether you’re cisgenr or transgenr, Republin or Democrat, Christian or Atheist, don’t matter, ” Gay said of the exhib, which tak place at the tail end of Transgenr Awarens Week and the day before Sunday’s Transgenr Day of Remembrance. “I pri myself on beg a photographer who velops a fortable and posive environment, ” said Gay, a former tor who pivoted to photography early the COVID panmic.

A photo om "This Is Trans"Vcent-Natasha Gay“There were some people where this was the first photo shoot they’ve ever done.

For some people, Saturday will be their g out, ” said Gay, who acknowledged the add sense of rponsibily the realizatns brought to the project. ”The exhib is acpanied by a documentary, also tled “This Is Trans, ” and directed by Gay and Alex Rogers. “It’s another way of tg people, ” Gay said.

“Society has s fn of trans but beg trans has s different meang to each person, ” Gay said.