Helena’s Holter museum features transgender, nonbinary and two spirit artists from across Montana

It’s always a thrill when Montana Free Press asks me to write for them. This time, I was asked to dig into the Holter Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition of artwork by transgender, nonbinary and two spirit people from across Montana.

“We go to art museums to be inspired to see beautiful work, and there is a complete and utter lack of representation of a whole population of people,” said Rae Senarighi, whose portraiture that celebrates transgender, two spirit, and nonbinary individuals will be on display. “I want there to be space for someone like me to walk into an art museum, and there is someone that looks like me. I exist. I am here.”

Senarighi grew up in Missoula, and now lives in Madison, Wisc. with his wife and two children. He has garnered attention for his artwork across the state with “You Are Loved” billboards, and his large-scale portraiture was recently featured on Netflix’s “The First Time I Saw Me,” as well as a TEDx talk, “The Art of Radical Self Love.”

Senarighi describes his art as a response: portraiture because there is a lack of representation. “You Are Loved” from a direct reaction to the attacks on Transgender people across the nation. “How can I transform that negative energy into what I want to see in the world? Into what is positive?” Senarighi asked.

Read the full article at Montana Free Press.