In celebration of Pride this year, Artsy is presenting an auction of new works by a diverse group of emerging and leading artists to benefit the Ali Forney Center. Selected directly from the studios of 15 artists, the June Pride auction will feature Ugandan artist Leilah Babirye’s work ‘Lady Nabuuso.’ Other artists on the list are: TM Davy, Didier William, Jo Messer, Kyle Meyer, Kate Pincus-Whitney, Erin M. Riley, Emma Kohlmann, Caitlin Cherry, Elizabeth Glaessner, Jordan Nassar, The Haas Brothers, Vickie Vainionpää, Darryl Westly, and Nedia Were.
Image courtesy of the artist
“Lady Nabuuso is a name that comes from the word ‘buuso,’ which refers to having small or petite eyes,” Leilah Babirye wrote of the featured work. “I selected this work because the name evokes a vision of queer Buganda clans that become chosen families.”
On her motivations for supporting this cause during Pride month, Babirye says:
“As a queer activist and supporter of LGBTQIA+ rights, I feel that this Pride auction is important for supporting the queer community.”
Image courtesy of Ana Mina (An Xiao)/Leilah Babiyre
Leilah Babirye (b. 1985) is a multidisciplinary artist from Uganda living and working in New York. Her work incorporates sculpture, painting, and drawing, as well as the transformation of found items into embellishments for ceramic and wooden sculptures. She explores themes of identity, sexuality, personal history, and resilience. Her artistic tradition is reminiscent of the Luganda phrase ebisiyaga, or sugarcane husk, which is frequently used as a homophobic term for queer people in Uganda. As an LGBTQ+ activist, her work focuses on repurposing and reimagining abandoned and found things while conceptualizing and constructing a community of queer Buganda clanspeople.
In 2015, Babirye moved to New York from her home country Uganda and received asylum in 2018. In the same year, she had her first solo show. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, her experience of being exiled from her home country has inspired not only her artistic practice, but her prolific activism in support of LGBTQ+ and human rights worldwide. Babirye has had exhibitions at the Gordon Robichaux Gallery and the Socrates Sculpture Park in New York, as well as the Stephen Friedman Gallery in London.
In collaboration with the Ali Forney Center, the mission of the June Pride auction is to protect and empower LGBTQIA+ youth. A percentage of the proceeds from the sale will go directly to the Ali Forney Center’s critical care, education, and career services. Bidding will begin on June 22nd and will end on June 29th ahead of the auction.
