For 2022, the Library has a great new reading list which includes many new titles that have just arrived in the Library. In addition to new titles, there are also examples of other books and resources which link to the theme ‘Politics in Art: ‘The Arc Is Long’
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
This year’s theme is based around five artists (one each to represent the L,G,B,T and ‘+’ of the community) who had used their talents for “political” ends, or expressed their orientation through their work and decided on our Five Faces for 2022.
Keith Haring‘s dancing figures are a perfect example as they were used to draw attention to the growing AIDS crisis of the early 1980s. Check out one of his books here on the Library Reading list
Doris Brabham Hatt and Fiore de Henriquez both fought against fascism in the 1930s. There isn’t a lot of material about them in the Library but The Museum of Somerset has a great page about Doris Hatt and The Guardian has an obituary of Fiore de Henriquez.
Jean-Michel Basquiat began as a graffiti artist and Mark Aguhar‘s life “and mere existence was an act of confronting white hegemony”. Find out more about Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work by reading this article in the Guardian and look at his work in this book, ‘Jean-Michel Basquiat 1960-1988‘ in the Library. Mark Aguhar was an American activist, writer and multimedia fine artist known for her multidisciplinary work about gender, beauty and existing as a racial minority, while being body positive and transgender femme-identified. Read about her work in the article ‘Revolting Self-Care: Mark Aguhar’s Virtual Separatism‘ in American Quarterly.
University module reading lists
The reading list also includes links to existing modules in the Schools of History and Heritage, Film and Media and Social and Political Sciences. From ‘Queering the Past’ to Sex, Sexuality and Gender in Asia’, there is a huge amount of interesting and engaging material in the Library.
Audio visual material
For a bit of relaxation or to find out more about the LGBTQ+ community, view films and television either in DVD or on the database BoB (Box of Broadcasts) which is available via the Library website ‘Databases‘ page.
There is so much to celebrate, so much to learn and so much to think about for the present and the future. This LGBT+ History Month 2022 list is a great starting point.