Tag Archives: LGBTQ

Nothing to lose: A conversation with OutNetwork president and graphic design student Gianfranco Ocampo

Gianfranco Ocampo at ArtCenter College of Design

Gianfranco Ocampo this summer at ArtCenter College of Design’s South Campus. Photo by Chuck Spangler

Before Gianfranco Ocampo embarked on his first trip to Europe this fall as a participant in the Berlin Studio study away program, we sat down for a conversation with the upper-term Graphic Design major. Ocampo loves to travel, and over the years his family in Los Angeles has hosted many exchange students, one of whom in turn hosted Ocampo when he visited Japan for his 18th birthday. Already bilingual (English and Spanish), Ocampo learned to speak Japanese and to cook Japanese food. Confident and outgoing, he’s a people-centric person at home in the role of ambassador. As a peer mentor with the Center for the Student Experience (CSE), he welcomes incoming students to ArtCenter and this year was named president of OutNetwork, ArtCenter’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning, Intersex and Allies (GLBTQIA) student club. The group is dedicated to fostering a multidisciplinary, multigenerational community that shares an interest in the intersection between GLBTQIA identity and the creative arts; members include current students and faculty as well as alumni. For Ocampo, advocating for important causes is integral to his calling as a designer.

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Bringing outside artists in: Fine Art’s diverse programming aims to challenge assumptions

Still from Anuj Vaidya's short film Miss Piggy, Live with Diane Sawyer (2013)

Still from Anuj Vaidya’s short film Miss Piggy, Live with Diane Sawyer (2013)

A visiting artist and exhibition series sponsored by the undergraduate Fine Art department, open to the campus community and to the public, is bringing diverse voices and points of view to Art Center. (See full schedule of upcoming programs below.)

“Art students need to see a mix of people and perspectives, otherwise their assumptions about life, society and art are not questioned,” says Fine Art Chair Vanalyne Green. “And what is an art education for, if not to pose questions?”

The programming includes lectures, screenings, performances and exhibitions designed to expose students to artists whose work is thought-provoking and, in many cases, boundary-defying.

Last month, artist, educator and film curator Anuj Vaidya presented “Colour Me Queer: LGBTQ Voices From India,” an array of queer experimental shorts created by himself and others over the past decade.

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A Transman Speaks Out on LGBTQ Allyship, DOMA, and Eating a Cookie

Tyler Bennet's self-portraits track his transgender transformation

Tyler Bennet’s self-portraits track his transgender transformation

Tyler is a student at Art Center in the Fine Art Program. Last week OutNetwork, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Student Club along with the Center for the Student Experience and Tyler led an Awareness and Ally Day at both campuses; encouraging staff, students and faculty to wear red and outwardly honor their commitment to a diverse and inclusive Art Center. Tyler’s work centers on large-scale photographs of his gender transition and daily life as a transgender man (transman.). Tyler is the current President of the Art Center Student Union, Vice President of the Art Center Service Club and the Director of Student Concerns on Student Government.

When I came to Art Center a few years ago I never could have imagined that I would be making 12’ photos of vulnerable parts of my life/body, sitting in countless committee meetings or walking down the hallway pinky promising students to take a nap. In my first few terms I observed the extreme work mentality, negation of personal narrative and absence of critical theory dialogue happening in and out the classroom; and ultimately how detrimental this vacuum can be to a creative. I started standing up for a supportive educational model — one where doing things outside of school and a commitment to self-care is viewed as integral to success in the studio. When I started taking testosterone as part of my gender transition I became even more aware of the need to bring these things into the present educational dialogue, also remarking on the exploitation and exoticism of minority populations in design work; including that of gender non-conforming people.

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