Opening Reception for ‘I made it home’

Queer|Art and Pen + Brush are pleased to co-present, I made it home, a solo exhibition by photographer, poet, and organizer Golden. The exhibited portraits were commissioned as the 2024 Community Portrait Project, the seventh edition of an annual tradition celebrating artists in their growing and vibrant network. This new body of work comprises intimate portraits of fifteen artists and cultural workers within the QA community in spaces of deep personal resonance–apartments, studios, workplaces, parks, theaters, and exhibitions. Beyond the beauty of each subject, these portraits reflect the lives they’ve built and worlds they’ve nourished, revealing how identity is shaped by the environments we create and inhabit.

In their interdisciplinary practice, Golden’s highly attentive process centers collaboration, trust, and storytelling. Guided by a creative ethos of care and respect, they allow each sitter to determine how they are seen. In this sense, they subvert the traditional photographer-subject hierarchy, and instead privilege self-definition as an artistic right.

I made it home celebrates queer and trans collectivity while honoring the distinct narratives within it. The sprawling project spans several months, multiple states, and includes sitters from different creative disciplines. In some cases, successive generations are pictured, giving us a glimpse into a dynamic community in bloom. The result is a multifaceted series that resists homogeneity in favor of lived complexity.

The exhibition design draws on visual cues from historical salons, public gathering spaces, and domestic interiors. By collapsing these diverse architectural references, the exhibition evokes a spirit of belonging that transcends physical spaces. In Golden’s world, home is defined not by brick and bone, but by connection, memory, and kin.

I made it home opens Friday, June 27th, with a public reception from 6–8 PM at Pen + Brush at 29 E 22nd St.

The 2024 Community Portrait Project was made possible by the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation.

This event is part of QUEER|ART|PRIDE 2025, Queer|Art’s ninth annual summer festival celebrating the brilliant artistry and resilience of NYC’s queer and trans communities during Pride Month. Get the full schedule of events here.