Congratulations to Peter M. Flannery, the winner of the Lambda Foundation Scholarship in LGBT Studies at the University of Guelph!!
Peter is an emerging curator, writer, and art historian. He has recently completed his Master of Arts in Art History and Visual Culture at the University of Guelph. Peter is energetic and passionate about contemporary visual culture and LGBTQ2S+ issues. He has previously worked at the Woodstock Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Guelph, Renann Isaacs Contemporary Art, as well as the School of Fine Art and Music and Archival & Special Collections at the University of Guelph. He is the 2018 recipient of the SLSA Edward Bruns Graduate Essay Prize.
Peter won this award for his thesis which examines the role of art and visual culture produced by Toronto-based artists from the 1970s to the present day, with a focus on the gay liberation movement and HIV/AIDS crisis. His thesis demonstrates the ways in which visual culture was critical in the formation of queer identities, community, and socio-political change in the face of oppression and the spread of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Peter argues for a return to the activist roots of queer visual culture to revitalize the fight for rights and representation for queer individuals and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Congrats again and great work!