BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Bakersfield organizations are still keeping the celebrations going as Pride Month comes to an end. One organization is supporting the LGBTQ+ community in an artistic way.
The Bakersfield Museum of Art is hosting its eighth year of "Art After Dark" exhibits, which let people enjoy masterpieces during after-work hours. The museum will hold an interactive Pride-themed Art After Dark exhibition on Thurs, June 29.
“For this event, of course, we have 'Faces Of Pride' on display," said Bakersfield Museum of Art's Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Victor Gonzales. "We invite local food trucks. We have a huge art project that's also designed by Jennifer Williams Cordova, a local muralist, which will allow guests to participate and create a mural and finish the mural throughout the night.”
According to Gonzales, the museum chose to do the "Faces of Pride" art project in the genre of portraiture since the traditional goal of portraiture is to not just show just what someone looks like but to show the inner essence of that person.
At Art After Dark, many of those "inner essences" bring people together
“These are individuals who are your everyday people, who are every day here amongst everyone else," explained Gonzales. "They are working. They are married. They have kids. They have pets. They have dogs. They are just everybody else and portraiture allows you to really come face to face with that humanity that we all really share amongst each other.”
The Bakersfield Museum of Art hosts its Art After Dark series four times a year, with June always being focused on the LGBTQ+ community.
June's Art After Dark event will kick off at 7 pm. The event costs $15 for non-members. Those who are unable to attend the event can visit the "Faces of Pride" exhibit until Sat, July 1.
For more information on the event, visit the Bakersfield Museum of Art's website.
