Flaunt | Being the Dream

The Black identity is inherently improvisational, disrupting oppressive structures and often facing violence as a consequence. However, our innate resilience enables us to dream and envision futures that embrace all identities regardless of their expression. "Flaunt: Being the Dream" is a dynamic, multimedia group exhibition curated by Zola-Jourdan Savage with a soundscape by Run P., that explores the Black Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender-Nonconforming (TGNC) experience to unpack contemporary perceptions of identity via the expression of gender and sex. In this presentation, universal themes including social roles and the way we inhabit them, cultural cues, power structures, survival, pleasure, and their intersection with race, transcend prejudices to represent the purest form of self-realization. In this context, the ‘performance’ refers to authenticity—being true to oneself. It is a misconception that individuals on the TGNC journey are being disingenuous and by claiming space for themselves pose a threat to the cisgender community. These preconceived notions often lead to senseless violence, social exclusion, and other forms of discrimination. To reaffirm the value of Black TGNC lives and to celebrate the myriad ways Black people connect performance to modes of expression i.e. how we show up, 20 Transgender, Non-Binary, Gender-Nonconforming and Queer artists contribute to a necessary dialogue that informs and expands the narrative.