Queer Caribbeans: Art and Activism

Final Conclusions

Both Nadia Huggins and Mia Vasquez's artwork display the connections of identity, activism, and art through their photography. As well, each artist creates space in their work to reflect on their intersecting identities. 

For Mia Vasquez, she beautifully captures intimate and vibrant moments of Queer Dominicans. She showcases a community seeking justice in their homelands and actively advocating to prove their lives are sacred and desirable. Mia's artwork shines a light on the present-day gender and sexuality issues in the Dominican Republic's government. Her art contributes to the activism of Queer Dominicans across the island. 

For Nadia Huggins, she explores the in-between spaces of the Caribbean island St.Vincent, the Grenadines, and the Caribbean sea. Her artwork vividly captures how gender transcend into the Caribbean sea. It is her way of allowing us to reimagine ourselves. Although Nadia Huggins's artwork is not directly associated with activism, it still presents the possibility of visualizing non-heteronormative forms of gender expression. Her artwork is an example of art contributing to LGBTQIA+ activism, in which discourses of gender expression are consistently questioned and regulated. 

When one's identity becomes a part of their artwork, it speaks of how our personal experiences can inspire creativity. Both Nadia Huggins and Mia Vasquez honor their own identities in their art, bringing representation to other Queer Caribbeans. Creative self-expression from marginalized communities has been a way for individuals to validate their experiences and show others the importance of being in solidarity with one another. Much of our efforts for creating social change rely on seeing and valuing people's existence, and visual art assures that we have living proof of that.

This page has paths: