The First Congregational Church (Camden, Maine) and Americans Who Tell the Truth co-hosted a multi-event celebration of queer story telling in Orono, Maine during the winter 2024. This stunning collaboration used portraiture and storytelling to invite communities to hear LGBTQIA+ voices, and change the way we think about queer justice, inclusion and belonging.

From January 16 – February 6, AWTT portraits, alongside art produced during workshops, were displayed at various Orono locations – Orono Public Library, The Store/Ampersand, Lord Hall and The University Union, The shows included portraits of:

Nicole Maines
Mary Bonauto
Betty Burkes
Alicia Garza
Sandra Steingraber
Pauli Murray
V (formerly Eve Ensler)
Harry Hay
James Baldwin
Jane Addams

Special events during the city-wide exhibit started off with a panel discussion led by Benjamin Perry, author of Cry, Baby: Why our Tears Matter.  This free-admission public event held at the Orono Performing Arts Center at Orono High School featured panelists Betty Burkes, Nicole Maines (appearing virtually), Lucious K. Finston-Rox, and Sarah Reynolds.

Benjamin Perry and AWTT artist Robert Shetterly, with assistance from University of Maine students, also led two free Visual Art and Narrative Workshops. One was held on campus and the other at the Orono Public Library. The pupose of the workshops was to help participants realize their own stories’ power.  Participants chose to work in either written or visual format. Together, they discussed the core elements that create a compelling story, explored how to use their own lives as source material, and heard each other’s stories. The message: Our stories can create the world we deserve.

AWTT’s portraits masterfully capture LGBTQIA+ leaders from around the country, inviting viewers to find inspiration in their stories. But this exhibit also made clear: It’s not just big names who are making change. The beautiful photographs and testimonies collected by the First Congregational Church portray queer people from around the state owning their own blessedness and belovedness, disrupting simplistic narratives that pit LGBTQIA+ rights and religious freedom against one another.

This integrative exhibit invited collective engagement. Pairings of portraits and photographs were placed in public buildings throughout the community, accompanied by personal testimonies and information about the show. At a time of so much public vitriol and animosity—steeped in lies about queer people—AWTT believes in the power of art and narrative to foster better conversations.