To wrap up Pride Month, we want you to meet Faith Rae. Faith is a visual artist who received a Prince Edward Arts Scholarship from SK Arts to complete her bachelor of fine arts at Brandon University. She used the final exhibition for her degree, “Evolving,” to come out publicly as queer. She says:

“The exhibition was an important moment for me to express the emotional turmoil I have faced throughout my life as a queer person. The exhibition was my way to come out as a queer comfortably to my family and to the public. It was a nerve-wracking experience, but after my truth was revealed, I felt that I could move forward in my life and art practice.

“Throughout the thesis exhibition course, I learned more about myself as an artist, how I work and what motivates me to create. Moving forward in my work, I want to continually be active in collaborating with other artists in the LGBTQIA2S+ community. I want to become a role model to support queer youth. Because I feared who I was at an early age, I want to help others.”

Image on front page: Faith Rae, Merely a Dream, 2022, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, from Rae's graduating exhibition. She says, "The work encapsulates the beauty of self-acceptance and the emotional turmoil I have faced when coming to terms with my identity."

Left: Faith Rae