Portraits of Gender Diversity in the Pacific - Call for Submissions - Open Now
The creative team behind award-winning films Kumu Hina and Leitis in Waiting is partnering with the Bernice Pau’ahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu to curate an exhibition featuring a collection of portraits of gender diverse Pacific Islanders whose identity and expression are rooted in their cultural backgrounds. The concept stems from the fervent belief that visibility and representation play a powerful role in the struggle for acceptance and respect for gender and sexual minorities everywhere.
The exhibition is based on Kapaemahu, the team's animated short about a monument on Waikiki Beach that honors the skills and contributions of four mahu - individuals of dual male and female spirit - who brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii. It will explore Oceania's long history of gender diversity and inclusion, as well as foreign influences that sought to change it.
To reflect contemporary understandings and realities, and illuminate new possibilities, Pacific Islanders across the gender spectrum are invited to participate.
SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO:
Submit 2 to 5 photographs that capture you as you prefer to be seen.
Wear an outfit or item of clothing that grounds you in and reflects an association with your traditional culture.
Include a headshot, a medium shot, and a full body shot.
Choose a well-lit location and use the highest possible digital resolution, either on a professional camera or mobile phone.
TELL YOUR STORY
What is your name?
What country, island, community, or region are you from?
How do you self-identify or describe your gender presentation?
How has your culture or community included, or excluded, you?
What is most important to know about you?
What are your hopes and aspirations for the future?
Submit your photo, responses, and this signed release, for consideration to: PacificPortraits@yahoo.com
FINAL DEADLINE - SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 - But the Sooner the Better - Early Submissions Greatly Appreciated!
Portraits of Gender Diversity in the Pacific is a nonprofit educational project of Qwaves, led by Joe Wilson, Dean Hamer, and Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, who said:
“Our survival depends on our ability to know and practice our cultural traditions, to speak and understand our language, and to feel an authentic connection to our own history. We must raise ourselves up and put our voices forward.”
There is no submission fee. By submitting your photograph and written responses to the project, you declare that you are the person represented in the photo, that you hold the rights to the photo and written responses, and that you grant to Qwaves LLC the perpetual worldwide right to include the photograph and written responses in the museum exhibition described above, in any arts works, writings, exhibitions, films or other media generated in conjunction with or in addition to the museum exhibition, and in promotional materials for such works. These images are to be included in the Bishop Museum exhibition, The Healer Stones Kapaemahu (2022), and may be used for museum and other websites, art works, writings, films, educational materials and presentations, grant proposals, and trade and marketing and publicity purposes (social media, email marketing, printed collateral, etc.)
By your submission, you hereby grant permission to Qwaves LLC, Bishop Museum, and their successors, assigns and licenses, unrestricted use and the rights of your image, likeness, written responses, and sound of your voice as recorded on audio or video tape without payment or any other consideration. You understand that your image and responses may be edited, copied, exhibited, published or distributed and waive the right to inspect or approve the finished product wherein your likeness appears. Additionally, you waive any right to royalties or other compensation arising or related to the use of my image or recording.
Submitting a photo does not guarantee inclusion in the museum or other public exhibitions. Each submitter retains all copyrights to their own images and responses for other uses.
Portrait Samples Below:
