Enjoy both in-person programs at the Art Center and virtual programs online.
7 – 9 pm: In-person programs on the Waterfront and Union Street
7 – 8 pm: Virtual broadcast
ALX Pride was developed in 2018 as a community-focused event to celebrate LGBTQ+-identifying creatives in the Alexandria area and beyond. The Art Center is pleased to bring back this event and provide arts projects along the Waterfront and the Union Street entrances as well as a virtual broadcast. Please note the Art Center will not be open during these after hours events.
Virtual Event
7 – 8 pm: Artist Talk: We, Too, Sing America by Ọmọlará Williams McCallister (Facebook Live stream)
Target Gallery’s 2021 solo exhibition recipient is artist Ọmọlará Williams McCallister (pronouns: O/love/beloved) who will be presenting a multisensory installation, We, Too, Sing America, which will include visual, sound, and interactive elements including durational performance. The installation is a continuation of the artist’s ongoing fiber-based series Domestic Work, which confronts the extraction of emotional labor, caretaking and other domestic work from Black women that is expected, depended upon, normalized and then erased in public and private spaces.
We, Too, Sing America will be a memorial to the small everyday acts that we have undertaken to support ourselves and each other as we have collectively moved towards building a better future and weathered the storms of COVID, of white supremacist anti-Black terror, of all of the intersecting forms of oppression that we face/d over these past many months. In this work I will use accumulation and repetition of ritual acts, art objects, images, and sound to explore the relationship of the individual act, individual person, individual moment to the collective, and to collective world building.”
Watch the artist talk on Facebook Live at 7 pm.
In-Person Events
(Important Note: Torpedo Factory Art Center building will be closed and all outdoor activities will be on Union Street or the Waterfront.)
7 – 9 pm: UHAULED exhibition
Union Street
7 – 9 pm: UHAULED exhibition UHAULED is a Queer gallery that highlights and centers the work and experience of Queer and lesbian artists. Created and curated by Cat Baker, and with two installations and counting, UHAULED is [typically] a one night pop up gallery which displays the art of several rotational artists in multiple U-Haul trucks. UHAULED was created in response to the lack of space allotted to those in the queer community who aren’t cis men, coupled with the need and importance to highlight queer artists in a typically hetero heavy space.
Mary Claire Phillips
Mary Claire Philips is a Texan fiber artist, curator and historian living in the District of Columbia. A mixture of family tradition and a propensity for fidgeting brought them to knitting in elementary school, and her interest in fiber flourished from there. When not in the yarn world, Mary Claire is an archival activist and a writer with a focus on mid-20th century queer historiography.
Clara Dorfi
Clara Dorfi is an illustrator and exhibit designer based in Washington DC. Her work is inspired by the environment around her, whether it be her kitchen or fleeting landscapes during travels. Their art captures the essence of places and things by distilling the complex into simple, bold and playful compositions.
Mariah Miranda @mariahmirandaphoto
Mariah Miranda is a visual creative based in Washington, D.C. She officially started her photography journey as a photojournalism student in high school and college, primarily focusing on women’s issues and human-interest stories. Due to her immense curiosity, her skill sets include (but are not limited to) coverage of the following: lifestyle, documentary, editorial, fashion, dance/music videography, events, and portraiture. As an individual, she is passionate about creating dialogue around inclusion, sustainability, awareness, and ethical living. Through a documentary and candid approach, she uses her work as a medium to facilitate connection and vulnerability, regardless of the subject.
Rex Delafkaran @rex_delafkaran
Rex Delafkaran is an interdisciplinary artist and dancer from California, currently based in Washington, D.C. Delafkaran holds a degree in Ceramics and Performance Art from the San Francisco Art Institute. Using movement and objects she explores ideas of failure and tensions between bodies, intimacy and language. She is the Co-founder of but, also an artist run business that sells artist made products and we have hopes to provide helpful, practical services to artists. Delafkaran makes her work at STABLE Arts studio, curates independently, and exhibits and performs nationally and internationally.
Cat Baker @catbakerart
Cat Baker is a Virginia born, multi-media artist currently based in Washington DC with a BFA in Photography from Radford University. Their art introspectively explores the body, queerness and light in series of portraits using both digital and darkroom techniques. Cat continues to grow their range of disciplines from working on film sets to throwing on a wheel to better expand their skill sets as an interdisciplinary artist. When stepping out from behind the lenses, Cat curates galleries and collaborates with local artists and organizers to put on local, queer events such as UHAULED.
Koren Grace @korengrace
Koren Grace, a singer. Songwriter and musician from Norfolk, Virginia recently released her latest EP “All My Friends” (streaming now), inspired by her conversations about trauma bonding in relationships in therapy. This EP serves as a microscopic piece of redemptive strength and softness found from not overextending ones self to find love and understanding and that what is meant for her, will come.
Emma Preston @emmzpreston
Emma Preston (she/her) works across mediums to explore themes of political and interpersonal power, gender, and queerness through color studies and disruptive/interactive installations. After studying visual arts at the University of Chicago, she is curious about the role art should play not only in dismantling institutional harm, but also in joyfully imagining a better and fairer world.
7 – 9 pm: Pride Art Projects and Safe Space NOVA
Waterfront
7 – 9 pm: Pride Art Projects and Safe Space NOVA Enjoy the waterfront nightlife and experience an art project with a Torpedo Factory Art Center artist. Learn more about supporting LGBTQ+ friends and family through the local efforts of Safe Space NoVA.
Safe Space NOVA is dedicated to providing a safe, accepting, and supportive environment to combat social stigmas, bullying, and other challenges faced by LGBTQ+ youth.
7 – 9 pm: Printmaking Demonstration with Pat Sargent of Printmakers Inc.
Waterfront
Join artist Patrick Sargent from Printmakers Inc. (Studio 325) as he demonstrates the printmaking process. Take part in the activity or just watch and enjoy as the Pride-colored artworks comes to life! Then take an artwork home with you to share with your loved ones.
Pat will also be selling exclusive t-shirts with a 2021 cicada design by fellow Printmakers Inc member Priscilla Young. These limited edition shirts are selling fast.
