Social Territory

For my exploration of social territory, I decided to look for signs, spaces, and other subjects that support LGBTQ+ Rights. With this in mind, I was immediately reminded of the Surly Wench Pub ( SWP) on 4th Avenue. Although I have never been inside, I immediately associate the community to that space because of the rainbow flag they have on their front door.

So, SWP was the destination of my walk; however, I wanted to take pictures of anything that reminded me of queer experiences, friends, and community. The first thing I saw is a bit of a wide shot:

This is a vape pen. I don’t vape but a lot of my queer friends do. I think vaping is more of a habit of Gen X; however, it just brought back vivid memories of friends discussing different flavors and passing it around for another hit. I often admire the designs of the vape pens because they look so sleek and high-tech.

After that, I didn’t notice any signs that stood out to me.

Surly Wench Pub Front Door

Here is the front of the pub displaying that they are a safe space for Bi-POC, Trans, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Happy Pride Month Poster

Here is a cute collaborative poster that gives cheers to the month. It’s always nice to see good spirits and collaboration in our community.

Karaoke Poster

This poster really stuck out to me because it mentions karaoke. I’m pretty sure this is a kind of drag show because of the name “Natasha Noir”. I really like the linework of the mermaid character.

When I arrived on Fourth Ave (via Sun Link), I immediately saw the pub because it was the first thing I saw after stepping off. After taking this picture, I saw some cute posters promoting some bar events happening this month. Here are some pictures I took. (Interact for more information on each image 😁)

After admiring these posters, I wanted to see what else Fourth Ave has to offer. So, I took a stroll down and across the street to look for other LGBTQ+ signages. That is when I came across Antigone Books. On the outside, there weren’t any posters that stuck out to me on the windows. However, they did have LGBTQ+ books on display in the window.

Book Display for Pride

I saw a line of books like this that cover a variety of different stories within the queer experience!

After seeing that the store was open, I decided to head in to see what ways they are celebrating or highlighting the community. Here are a few pictures I snapped (interact with images for more details):

All throughout the store, there are pride decorations celebrating the month. There was even a flag wrapped around a pillar in the store.

There weren’t that many posters on the outside as there was on the inside. I guess there is an effort of not trying to overwhelm potential customers.

Here is another poster that talks about supporting Trans individuals and making sure they are loved during this month!

While exploring this space, I saw that they had a “LGBTQ Non-Fic” section. Immediately, “Dykes To Watch Out For” stood out to me because it reminds me of “The Gossips” by Norman Rockwell! I love comic books so much and to see that they had physical novels I could buy made my day.

Look at all these books! I loved flipping through the pages and seeing what they had to offer. I considered buying one, but none of them stuck out enough for me to buy for myself, unfortunately.

I enjoyed staring at the different characters interacting. If you look closely, different groups of people are entangled in this gossip. I love the art style so much!

After this venture, I was inspired to create something that takes inspiration from both comic books and poster designs! When I saw the cover of AlisonBechdel’s books, I thought about gossip about someone’s sexuality. Outing is a big thing in our community and it can jeopardize the safety of those who aren’t in accepting environments. I also animated it in Canva so that it could be used as a social media post.

I enjoyed making this poster and collaging all of the graphics together. I took the newspaper/magazine cutout route because of the importance of visibility. Newspapers keep people in the know and we could all benefit from positivity in our spaces through visual reminders. I think it’s always good to spread a positive message and know that you’re seen. I feel like I caught the essence of my gatherings in this poster because I could definitely imagine it in Antigone Books!