Pacific Portrait Project Opens New Pride Month Call for Submissions
As people across the Pacific Islands stand proud this June in support of inclusion and equity for all, the Portraits of Gender Diversity in the Pacific project is opening a new Call for Submissions with the fervent belief that visibility and representation play a powerful role in the struggle for acceptance and respect for gender and sexual minorities everywhere.
The project is part of an exhibition that will launch at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu in Spring 2022 and be shared online and as a traveling exhibit with galleries, schools, and community organizations around the world.
Based on Kapaemahu, an animated film about the stone monument on Waikiki Beach that honors four mahu — individuals of dual masculine and feminine spirit — who brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii long ago, the exhibition will explore Oceania’s long history of gender diversity and inclusion, as well as foreign influences that sought to change it.
This collection of contemporary portraits of gender diverse Pacific Islanders, whose identity and expression are rooted in their cultural backgrounds, will help to link the past with the present and expand understanding of evolving traditions.
During the first round of submissions, a beautiful array of photos was received, ranging from informal selfies and snapshots to artistically-staged portraits, providing a glimpse of the project’s magnificent potential. Many will be included in the digital exhibition available in the museum and online.
As the curation process continues, this new Call for Submissions aims for a more culturally immersive style. A selection of these portraits will be printed and displayed in a larger format in the museum exhibition gallery.
If you’re interested in participating, please use these criteria for the photographs you submit for consideration:
- Wear an outfit or item of clothing that reflects your culture.
- Capture three perspectives, a headshot, a medium shot, and a full shot.
- Choose a well lit room, studio, or location.
- Use the highest quality camera possible, producing high-res images.
Also, please provide brief responses to give viewers a sense of who you are:
- What is your name?
- What country, island, community are you from?
- How do you identify or describe your gender presentation?
- Has your culture or community included, or excluded, you?
- What is most important to know about you?
- What are your hopes and aspirations for the future?
Submit your photos and responses to PacificPortraits@yahoo.com. (Read the terms of agreement here. Print, sign and return, or state your explicit consent, with your submission.)
And finally, please feel free to share this invitation with other community leaders in your network!
Co-curators with the Bishop Museum: Dean Hamer, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Joe Wilson
