Timed to coincide with the International Day of Transgender Visibility on March 31, Radical Tenderness: Trans for Trans Portraiture highlights photographic work from four trans and non-binary artists whose portrait photography exudes tender intimacy and calls for a radical shift in visibility politics.

The presented images turn away from thinking of visibility in terms of commercial representation made for others. The photographs portray muses, friends, icons, and self on aesthetic terms that say this one is “for us.” Consider the different resonances of the portrayed having their eyes closed or averted. Feel the atmosphere of a bedroom, a dressing room, a private moment in a park. This group show is in honor of the Alice Austen legacy of creating meaningful photographs with friends that both create opportunities to bond and leave a trace of one’s love for each other behind.

Showing work from Johanna Jackie Baier (Germany), Zackary Drucker (US), Texas Isaiah (US), and Del LaGrace Volcano (US/Sweden), Radical Tenderness aims to inspire visitors to consider the role of the photographic camera in practices of survival and care.

This exhibition is curated in partnership with Dr. Eliza Steinbock of Leiden University, the Netherlands. Dr. Steinbock’s work in cultural analysis investigates visual culture mediums like film, digital media, and photography, with a special focus on dimensions of race, gender and sexuality.