On the walls of the Erb Memorial Union, 54 black and white photos consisting of a wide array of students hang near the elevator. Each photo contains an individual who does not identify sexually as 100 percent straight, or someone who identifies with the LGBTQ community and is eager to share their story.
The series of photos are a part of a larger photography and videography project organized by UO junior and Women’s Center member, Kristin Taylor. The project is called “Facing Equality.” Through the power of images, the goal of the project is to create a sense of awareness in the community, and more importantly remove the stigma associated with identifying as anything other than straight.
Taylor photographed various members of the Eugene community and asked them to share their stories. She asked each person to describe equality in one word and then put the results together in a video that will be displayed at the OUT/LOUD Queer Women’s Music Festival that will take place on June 1 at Kesey Square, in downtown Eugene.
“Personally, I believe this project is meaningful because if I had seen the photos and video when I was still in high school — or even before that — maybe I would have seen a little bit of myself in those faces and the stories that they share,” Taylor said. “Maybe I would have been able to be myself during a time when that’s one of the (toughest) things to do.”
UO senior Andrea Pointer, the Women’s Center’s event coordinator, said that it’s a great festival, and she hopes for a large turnout. As for the Facing Equality Project, she hopes to capture more faces and display them in the project, “I want at least 50 more people, a thousand!” she said. She emphasized the importance of “humanizing” the cause.
“One of the most important things about this project is that these are real people,” Taylor said. “And they are their stories and that’s what makes it so powerful; to be able to capture it on camera and show it and tell them to other people.”
The festival will be featuring artists such as Girl in a Coma, THEESatisfaction, Tender Forever and many more. OUT/LOUD will begin at noon and end at 10 p.m., free of charge until 6 p.m. After 6 p.m., there will be a charge $6 for student entry and $8 for community members.