Testimony is a Tumblr site that personifies the "queer youth experience" in multimedia form. The site includes photographs, paintings, poems and spoken word. It was created by the Queer Youth Collective, a partnership between young people, service providers, activists and allies that works to create space for queer youth through advocacy and education.
The Tumblr site was created in October 2011 as part of Queer Youth Empowerment Month. The media collected for the event were from both queer youth and queer adults sharing experiences from their youth.
I found the Tumblr to be very moving and a wonderful venue to feel connected to the wider queer community.
To give you a better sense of the site, I encourage you to read its creators' description and to look at a sampling of the art on the Tumblr below.
According to the site it is:
"An opportunity to be heard
a conversation
a chance to create
a documentation of past and present
a place to connect
a CELEBRATION
a vehicle for healing
a platform for education
a love letter to those we've lost
a way to build support
An act of Unity"
*The site is a constantly updated. If you are interested in contributing they are still taking submissions. Submit Your Testimony Here.
Here are a few of the submitted photos:
Submitted by GIANFRANCO MOSTERT, Age 23, Keetmanshoop, Namibia
Submitted by JO-ANNE CARLSON, Atlanta, Georgia (www.gallerish.com/artist.php?ArtistID=1047)
Artist Statement:
These paintings, to me, represent discovery, struggle and growth.
Submitted by ALEK A., Age 21, London
Artist Statement:
My youth was painful and I hold many scars. But my heart is full, strong and PROUD.
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