“Reusing materials is important to me, as a person who comes from a background where the LGBTQ community is looked at as trash still today. As an artist, I find beauty in using found materials to showcase and reclaim my community.” -Leilah Babirye
Bicycle chains, gears, and tire tubes are some of the unexpected elements in Leilah Babirye’s latest sculptures at the ICA. Her art, celebrating a one-of-a-kind queer wedding, depicts attendees of this special life event through ceramic and carve wood sculptures. . Join Babirye and ICA’s Barbara Lee Chief Curator Ruth Erickson as they reflect on the artist’s unique practice that proudly reclaims space, identity, and community through art. This program explores Babirye’s many creative influences from African sculpture to found object art and addresses cultural and political systems of oppression embedded in Uganda, including the Anti-Homosexuality Act (2014/2023) that endangers and criminalizes many lives.
Make the most of your ICA visit! Explore Leilah Babirye’s ICA exhibition and stop by Art-Making After Dark for a hands-on activity designed by the artist and enjoy a drink and light bite in the waterfront Wine + Coffee Bar after the talk.
