The Degenderettes “Queers Never Die” skeleton puppet, hanging outside the Hormel Center. Photo credit: James Menchini.

The Degenderettes: Antifa Art exhibit opened on Saturday, March 17 to a crowd of  LGBTQIA people, many of whom were newcomers to the Library. Over a hundred visitors came to see the “Queers Never Die” skeleton puppet, original “Trans Dykes are Good and Pure” shields, Color Guard bats, trans labrys, merit badges, and other objects created by this crew of artist-activists for use in the marches, protests, die-ins, and street actions in which they’ve been engaging since 2014. People of all ages were in attendance, including many young adults and one infant. St. Patrick’s Day Parade-goers wandered in from the Civic Center and mingled.

One youth who identified themselves as queer and gender-variant expressed their gratitude for the presence of art in the Library that made them feel “safe and powerful” in their identity. They talked about how far too often, queer youth– and specifically queer youth of color–are underrepresented in art and media; and that they struggle to find areas where they are not required to choose between their blackness and their queerness. This exhibit made them feel like the Degenderettes were on their team and cared about their identity as a black queer person.

Given the political and confrontational messages displayed in the Degenderettes’ work, the Hormel Center staff had been uncertain about what to expect in the way of public response on opening day. It was a pleasure and a delight to experience the deluge of positive feedback from library patrons.

The exhibit runs through July 19, and we encourage you to stop by to take a look!