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THIS JUST IN from good Orange Juice friend and Fullerton troublemaker Stephan Baxter…

Art With An Agenda presents:

LOVE. SEX. UNITY. RESPECT.
An Art Exhibit In Support Of Marriage Equality & Orange County’s LGBTQ Community.

When: Opening weekend May 3^rd & 4^th 2013, doors open 6pm both nights.

Where: The Magoski Arts Colony, home to PÄS, Hibbleton, Violet Hour Galleries & The Dicky Jones Galleries.

Why:  We are putting Fullerton on the right side of history.  It’s our contribution to the  civil rights issue of our time. It is also Fullerton’s contrition for giving the world Senator John Briggs & the 60% of residents that voted for Prop 8. We are sending mass love to the LGBT community.

Details: Over 80 artists submitting over 100 original works of art, each in a unique way celebrating love and/or the LGBT Community through the visual arts with a retail value of between $30,000 down to $100, will be in a silent auction to the public with 50% of the proceeds donated to OC AIDS Walk. The Other 50% will go to the artists. Organizers and Gallery Owners will not profit.

Contact: Organizer and Co-Curator: Stephan Baxter, 714/342-3052, stephanbaxter@me.com

Mission Statement: http://www.artwithanagenda.org/mission-statement.html

8 Ft Wedding Cake Installations:We have reached out to the LGBT friends and organization asking that those in committed relationship to send us a high resolution “couples” photo so they can be part of an 8ft Wedding Cake installation which will be wall-papered with the images of up to 200 couples Link to LGBT Couples Photo project:http://www.artwithanagenda.org/couples-photo-project.html This installation will be the political and emotional focal point of our exhibit, and to ensure that it will be beautiful as well, a wonderful and established local artist named  Katherine England has agreed to design and construct the cake. Katherine is also the woman behind the All Arts for Kids Hearts which were placed all around town last summer. project: http://www.katherineengland.com/special_projects.html  Our website has a few examples of the photo’s being submitted. Tom and Al who have been together for 40 years and can’t get married and to whom this art installation is dedicated and Rick and Randy, who were married during the window of tolerance in 2008 and are building a family and living the life so many American want.

Reaching Out To Those Who May Disagree With Us:  We do not only intend to preach to the choir, so I will be speaking at local churches during the month of may inviting them to come to our exhibit and so they do not assume the worst assure them that the art will celebrate OC LGBTQ community but that none of the art will shame anyone who voted for Proposition 8.  We want to elevate love and connect people to those things which they have in common and we are curating the show with my own family in mind. A very traditional and religious Catholic family who all voted for Prop 8. I love them all, but they are wrong on this issue and hope to change the minds of them and others like them with this exhibit.

AIDS Walk Team: In addition to the money raised through the sale of arte we  now have a team of over 30 artist and friends. My wife and I have participated in AIDS Walk for the last four years straight and we are returning to Disneyland and walking the park before it opens to the public the morning after grand opening. Disney characters will be out in force to support you us you walk. ASF have been kind enough to post and to promote our event on their website. http://www.ocasf.org/related-events-2.html That evening day 2 of our exhibit will be transformed into a AIDS Walk After Party and the close of our silent auction.  Please join our team. http://www.artwithanagenda.org/oc-aids-walk.html

I am straight but this an issue I have been involved with since the days of proposition 22 as my first mentor in life, and someone who was a great influence me, was high profile Santa Ana attorney. He was gay and he passed away from AIDS. (The LA Times Reported the passed away from Diabetes so I will not mention his name on the record).

I believe that there has not been a more powerful and meaningful exhibit in Orange County in many years and we invite those who agree and disagree on the issue of Prop 8 to come take look. It’s Free, It’s open to the Public and I’m sure we at least agree that raising money to combat AIDS and HIV is a worthwhile cause.

Next to my own marriage to my wife Noele, organizing this event feels like the high water mark of my life so far.

I look forward to hearing from you.
ArtWithAnAgenda.org
Stephan Baxter
Organizer/Co-Curator
714/342-3052
stephanbaxter@me.com

ART REPRODUCED IN THIS POST, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

• Brian Torres, LGBT Will You Marry Me?
• Sharon Kennedy, Rick and Randy’s Wedding
• Niky Dogatzis, It’s True I Crave You
• Susan Olsen, Be Yourself
• Fidel Garcia, The Found Passion
• Renzo, Choice of Causation
• Ren Ruzic, The Owl and the Pussycat