NEWSLETTER
Exhibition presented in partnership with ImageOut, May 17–October 26 at George Eastman Museum
Rochester, N.Y., May 15, 2025—The George Eastman Museum, along with ImageOut, presents Seeing & Being Seen: LGBTQ+ Visions of Rochester, which celebrates the diverse, intersectional identities, and experiences within the Greater Rochester, New York LGBTQ+ community, and spotlights the shared and unique Queer and Trans existence, from celebration to struggle. The exhibition is on display in the museum's community gallery, the Gallery Obscura, starting May 17.
With this exhibition, ImageOut and the George Eastman Museum honor the strength and resiliency of LGBTQ+ people, showcasing their unique individualism and enduring bravery through print and digital collections.
The prints on display, juried by a diverse panel of local LGBTQ+ arts professionals, feature community portraits by thirteen Rochester-based LGBTQ+ artists.
Three digital displays of documentary images will rotate on screen throughout the exhibition:
- May and June: “Queer Community Events”
- July and August: “The Rainbow Revolution: Pride Selfies”
- September and October: “ImageOut Archive”
To represent Rochester’s 2025 Pride theme, members of Greater Rochester’s LGBTQ+ community and allies are invited to submit an image to be part of “The Rainbow Revolution: Pride Selfies” collection. Images will be accepted through July 30, with the option to be anonymous. The collection will expand throughout July with updates every Tuesday through August 4.
“In this time of civil rights restrictions and community erasure, especially for Trans and Queer folx, our very existence is resistance,” said Elliotte Bowerman, chair of the ImageOutArt committee curating the exhibit. “The talented local photographers and brave people being seen in this exhibit remind us—Pride is always a protest.”
Curated by ImageOutArt. Co-organized with George Eastman Museum.
The exhibition is generously sponsored by Leading Edge Advising & Development, with additional support provided by 7Crest Financial Partners. Gallery Obscura programming is generously sponsored by ESL.
Museum Admission
Museum admission is free for members, children (4 & under), SNAP and EBT cardholders and their families, and for active-duty military personnel and their families. A buy one, get one admission pass is available to be borrowed through the Monroe County Library System’s Very Important Places (V.I.P.) pass program. For complete ticket information, hours, and more visit eastman.org.
About ImageOut
Founded in 1993, ImageOut is a premier local LGBTQ+ not-for-profit organization, primarily serving the Greater Rochester community. Its mission is to present and support LGBTQ+ arts and cultural experiences showcasing films, creative works, and artists to promote awareness, foster dialogue, and build community. ImageOut produces spring and fall film festivals, as well as single screenings, art exhibitions, literary events, and other local creative projects by and for LGBTQ+ community. ImageOut also organizes art-centered programs specifically serving LGBTQ+ teens and college students to provide supportive spaces for connection, education, and community care. The ImageOutArt committee works with local artists and organizations to collaborate on projects that promote LGBTQ+ pride, self-expression, and connection; and ImageOutWrite, which produces an LGBTQ+ literary journal and other literary and spoken word events. To learn more about the organization, check out upcoming events, offer financial support and/or get involved as a volunteer, visit imageout.org.
About Gallery Obscura
The museum's community gallery, the Gallery Obscura, features exhibitions created or presented in collaboration with regional institutions and school and/or youth programs, projects focused on Greater Rochester, and exhibitions from the museum's collections that are thematically related to area events or that support other museum initiatives and programming.
About the George Eastman Museum
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States, located on the historic Rochester, New York estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. Its holdings comprise more than 400,000 photographs, 28,000 motion picture films, the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema, and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program, and its L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation’s graduate program (a collaboration with the University of Rochester) makes critical contributions to film preservation. For more information, visit eastman.org.
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Photo: Kit Morgan (they/he). Queer Joy at Dusk, 2024. Resident of Rochester, NY. theliberatedporch.com
ATTN. Media: High-resolution images for Seeing & Being Seen: LGBTQ+ Visions of Rochester can be provided by request.
Media Contact:
Danielle Raymo
Communications Manager
(585) 327-4813