Colleagues: If you are teaching courses this spring with LGBTQ content, you might consider sending your students to a relevant exhibit in the UCI Student Center this May. Created by Antoinette LaFarge (CTSA) and Jonathan Alexander (School of Humanities), Burning Time brings together art and poetry to trace one young person's journey from suffering homophobia into a more supportive community.

The timing of the exhibit couldn't be more relevant as this coming June marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which inaugurated publicly the movement for lesbian and gay liberation. Both Alexander and LaFarge can make themselves available to discuss the exhibit and offer insights into collaboration across disciplines in the promotion of social justice.

Tuesday, May 7 - Thursday, May 23

The exhibit runs daily | 7 a.m. - Midnight

Viewpoint Gallery, UCI Student Center

Join us for an opening reception on Friday, May 10 at 4 p.m., featuring light appetizers and remarks by Alexander and LaFarge.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

About Burning Time

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, one of the most important events leading to the modern fight for LGBTQ rights in the United States, UCI presents the art exhibit "Burning Time: A Graphic Book Collaboration." Jointly produced by Chancellor's Professor of English Jonathan Alexander and Professor of Art Antoinette LaFarge, it pairs eight poems and associated panoramic paintings to bring to life the story of a young gay man arriving in New Orleans in the late 1950s to start a new life.

The project began with a trove of photos that Alexander was given at a family retreat – forgotten images offering a poignant glimpse into the life of a long-dead gay uncle. He began to imagine what this man must have gone through, arriving in New Orleans from rural Louisiana as a youth in the mid-20th century. Alexander soon realized that his conjured story needed equally evocative artworks to create an emotional correlative of the uncle's experiences, and he invited LaFarge into the project. In the exhibit – sponsored by UCI Illuminations, the School of Humanities and the Claire Trevor School of the Arts – text and art interweave to recreate a particular time and place while also summoning the timelessness of self-exploration and desire.

Jonathan Alexander is a writer, literacy scholar, and cultural critic. He is Chancellor's Professor of English and informatics at the University of California, Irvine. He is also the YA editor and a frequent contributor for the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Antoinette LaFarge is an artist and writer who is Professor of Art at the University of California, Irvine. She has a longstanding focus on expanded narrative and feminist techno-arts.

Questions? Contact exhibit organizer, Antoinette LaFarge