Art Explosion 2011 - February 12-26

ArtExplosion celebrates 11 years as one of the largest LGBT Arts Festival in the country, with two weeks of art, film, music, dance, theatre, literature, comedy and cabaret by LGBT artists and performers. ArtExplosion 11 kicks off with the announcement of the winners of the Annual Juried Art Show and ends with an evening with Dan Savage, the creator of the Savage Love advice column and co-founder of the “It Gets Better” Project.  The two weeks are filled with lots of opportunity to enjoy the arts in South Florida. Check out our calendar for the listings of events.

About ArtsUnited

ArtsUnited’s mission is to present a positive message about the gay and lesbian community through the diverse performing and fine arts. We strive to accomplish our mission in many ways including: organizing art exhibits and performances by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) artists and performers in public venues; sponsoring book signings and appearances by LGBT authors; conducting educational seminars and artists workshops; conducting collaborative outreach programs to benefit other non-profit organizations, and encouraging programming inclusive of LGBT issues, artists, and audiences. Each year ArtsUnited presents over 40 programs including our yearly events: ArtExplosion International LGBT Arts Festival, the Gay & Lesbian Literary Arts Festival, and United & Proud.

ArtsUnited’s History

ArtsUnited began in 1997 when frustrated play write Eston Dunn staged a reading of his original play, “Lip Sync”. As the play concluded, Eston made his pitch for financial support to get the play produced. The play is very gay-themed and Eston is openly gay. It was his belief his homosexuality was the reason his play was being rejected by potential producers. ArtServe staff member Constance Avery happened to be in the audience, and she followed up with Eston after the show and suggested ArtServe might be able to help. With the help of arts-incubator ArtServe, ArtsUnited, Inc. was created, a Board was formed, and the organization was incorporated in Florida on March 8, 1999. The mission was stated as: ”Use the arts to help fight bias and bigotry toward the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community”.