Professor Stuart McKee

Design Program, Dept. of Art + Architecture

University of San Francisco

During the summer of 2024, I began research
on an exhibition endeavor that I am calling Queer Subjectivities in History. This project features
a series of banners that present individuals from history who can be identified as conforming
to particular gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender sexualities. It is the goal of this project to “queer,” or to undermine, the notion of public education
by situating potentially controversial information pertaining to these sexualities within a prominent public venue, to support a correction in the
ways in which sexual diversity can be made factual and salient. If we consider the prevalence of individuals who presented themselves as having an intermediary sex or gender within Western history, for example, the frequency suggests that an underlying bigotry has impeded the public’s awareness of sexuality in contemporary society. The initial installation of six banners, which featured the subjectivities biawacheeitchish, faggot, khadīm, kizlar ağa, sapphist, and wakashu, appeared in the University of San Francisco’s Faculty Triennial exhibition during March and April of 2026. I now have thirteen different banners complete, and will begin searching for a second exhibition venue when the total reaches twenty.