By JULES SHINKLE
BG Independent News
In place of Black Friday, House of Dow hosted a more colorful variant this year: Lavender Friday. The vintage fashion store at 1501 Adams St., Toledo, shared its space with 25 local transgender artists to exhibit and sell their work.
The art show made efficient use of its limited space. Dozens of paintings, prints, and drawings were hung between mannequins and clothing racks. What used to be the changing room instead housed tabling artists. The back of the store, elevated by a few stairs, was used as a makeshift stage.
Musicians and poets took to the stage throughout the night, many of which shared their gratitude to be in community with fellow trans people. A few calls to action were issued – support trans loved ones, buy their work, and loudly resist the ongoing moral panic threatening their lives.
“We’re working with trans artists, we’re not doing great right now, societally,” said Judah Kania, visual artist and organizer for the event. “It was a great opportunity to drive support to our community members, especially the ones who are hurting right now.”
Lavender Friday comes amidst a steep escalation of anti-trans violence and rhetoric that has taken hold over American culture and politics. Many are despondent over all that has been lost and wary of what must be further endured.
Despite this, trans art thrives. Lavender Friday showcased the wide breadth of expression wielded by the local trans community.
One such artist was Quinn Taylor of Bowling Green. “My paintings are – surprise – about identity. But I have a more keen interest in exploring the depths of self. You have the exterior observer, you have the prejudice of people seeing you from the outside. You have the ways that your identity is formed by your own interpretation of that exterior.”
“Then there’s deeper elements – ego and id. I’m interested in the ways they play off each other and how they make up a core identity,” Taylor said. Two of her paintings depict blank silhouettes – outlines of people whose existence is merely implied.
Elai Rose was the first musical act of the night. They are a singer/songwriter who makes regular appearances in nearby house shows and bars. “This is the first show I’ve played since Joy passed away, so that’s a big deal for me. I’m excited to see events like this happening.”
Rose shared a band with the late Joy Sittler called Brain Weasels. Rose’s set included a few songs from their act and a tribute to Sittler. Their music can be listened to on streaming platforms and Bandcamp.
Fellow veteran of the DIY music scene, Selah Cadence Carter, performed after Rose. “I always wanted to be a rockstar, to be honest. I’ve had a few bands in the area, but I just started – within the last year – presenting my own work.” Though by herself on stage, her vocals, electric guitar and loop pedal lit up the whole store.
“I kinda style myself after Jeff Buckley. Up on the stage, a guitar, singing earnest and sincere things. It’s performing, but not really performing.” True to her word, Carter’s stage presence was nonchalant, even while shredding.
Pella Felton, beloved local poet and independent scholar, unleashed her work in typical evocative style. Felton’s poetry is confessional in its intimacy while operatic in scope. Her performance on Friday was a reminder that theatrical wordplay and existential hopelessness can be equal expressions of honesty.
“The most important thing a community can do is show up for each other. After a very hard year, events like Lavender Friday give me hope for our survival in an era where my basic human rights are no longer in fashion,” Felton said.
“I read poetry because I’m constantly trying to build a new civilization if only for a few minutes. Last night I got to live in that civilization for a few hours and it was so beautiful that it did not matter how ugly the outside world was. Listening to my friends be magical is the best Christmas gift I could have asked for.”
