Friends of Dorothy’s, Curated by Emma Rose Gudewicz

The Evanston Art Center (EAC) is excited to welcome the public to Friends of Dorothy’s. Friends of Dorothy’s, curated by Emma Rose Gudewicz, examines what it is to be queer today, underscoring the artists’ individual experience with queerness. This exhibition seeks to uplift and highlight LGBTQIA+ voices in an uncertain world.

The exhibition title Friends of Dorothy’s derives from queer slang in the mid-20th century. At a time when homosexuality was criminalized, many queer individuals used coded language to identify one another safely in public. “Are you a friend of Dorothy?” was a discreet inquiry from one queer individual to another that didn’t risk revealing a queer person’s identity to potentially dangerous people. Amid the regression of societal acceptance and understanding, we reflect on historical queer communities—their unity and resilience—and how their experiences shape the spaces we create today.

Friends of Dorothy’s will be exhibited in the Second Floor Main & Atrium Gallery of the Art Center. The opening reception is free and open to the public. This exhibition is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the EAC’s general membership.