CAM Presents: Lola Flash
Lecture from 3–4 p.m.
Reception from 4–5 p.m.
Free. Reservations required.
Join us for a conversation with acclaimed photographer and activist Lola Flash, whose work has challenged preconceptions about gender, sexuality, race, and age for nearly five decades. A current member of the Kamoinge Collective and a recent Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant recipient, Flash will speak about their joyful and defiant career, from their culturally pointed inverted color work in the 1980s to a recent LGBTQIA+ history project in collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
This event celebrates the recent addition of Flash’s work to the Cincinnati Art Museum’s collection.
Due to limited seating, we invite visitors to determine appropriateness for their group before reserving tickets.
Following the main program in CAM’s Fath Auditorium, please join us for a reception in the Marek-Weaver Family Commons.
This event is generously supported by The Rainbow Fund and by ArtsWave Pride.
ArtsWave Pride
The Cincinnati Art Museum’s recent acquisition of artworks by Lola Flash was made possible through the generosity of Bruce M. Halpryn and Chas Riebe.
This program will be interpreted in American Sign Language by Ghostlight Stage Company.
About the Artist
For more than 40 years, photographer Lola Flash’s art and activism have been deeply intertwined, fueling a lifelong commitment to visibility and preserving the legacy of LGBTQIA+ and POC communities worldwide. A longtime figure in New York City’s downtown art scene and an active member of ACT UP during the AIDS epidemic in New York City, Flash was notably featured in Gran Fury’s “Kissing Doesn’t Kill” poster. This now-iconic art action pierced public indifference to the AIDS crisis using the visual language of Benetton advertising. Flash’s own work has consistently challenged preconceptions around gender, sexuality, race, and age, ranging from early Cross-Color images that portray the intersections of personal life and activism in the 1980s and 1990s, to more recent work that uses portraiture to create positive representations of marginalized or overlooked individuals and communities. Flash holds degrees from the Maryland Institute College of Art and the London College of Printing. Their work is represented in the permanent collections of institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the George Eastman Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. They have received residencies, grants, and other awards from organizations including Light Works, Art Matters, Alice Yard, the Royal Photographic Society, Anonymous Was A Woman, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. A retired K-12 educator, they are a member of the Kamoinge Collective and current Board President of Queer | Art.
If you need accessibility accommodations, please contact us in advance at [email protected]
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3579054-0
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3579054-2
