FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 4, 2007
Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People and their Families Visits Seven Ohio Cities June-July
CONTACT: Andrea Wood, Manager of New Media & Engagement, Equality Ohio (614.284.2774 or andrea@equalityohio.org)
Columbus, OH - Equality Ohio Education Fund is partnering with seven Ohio communities to bring the photography exhibit Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People and their Families to the Buckeye State.
The touring photo-text display created by the award-winning Family Diversity Projects of Amherst, Massachusetts invites viewers to come face-to-face with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their loved ones.
"Ohio is not a welcoming place for LGBT people and their families," said Tom Grote, Chair of the Equality Ohio Education Fund. "We hope these photos will help cut through all the political arguments right to the heart of the issue by showing the love, caring, and connection that are so basic to all families."
The exhibit will be in the following seven cities: Youngstown (Youngstown State University Kilcawley Center June 4-8); Wooster (Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Wooster June 13-17); Hudson (Hudson Library and Historical Society (June 18-29); Twinsburg (Twinsburg Library June 20-25); Westerville (Otterbein College June 26-29); Chillicothe (The Pump House Gallery July 2-7); and Granville (First Baptist Church of Granville July 11-15).
"There are LGBT Ohioans and their families in all 88 counties, not just in the larger cities," said Andrea Wood, Manager of New Media and Engagement at Equality Ohio. "We hope the exhibit will encourage discussion about what life is like for them."
Photographs by Gigi Kaeser depict a variety of LGBT people of all races in familiar family settings. The photos are accompanied by text edited by Peggy Gillespie from in-depth interviews she conducted with each family member.
Family Diversity Projects of Amherst, MA, a non-profit educational organization, created Love Makes a Family. Since it began touring in 1996, the exhibit has traveled to over 1000 communities.
Equality Ohio Education Fund envisions an Ohio where everyone feels at home. On the web at www.equalityohio.org.
