Innocent Until Proven Gay" Gallery Exhibition ENVIRONMENT

Mother Teresa: A Great Woman Yvonne Y. F. Kelle (Alumni)

March is Women’s History Month, and March 8 is International Women’s Day, when the great women of our times, as well as their contribution to society are remembered.

March 8 has been celebrated by the United Nations since 1975. In some parts of the world, protests are organised on that day, and in other parts of the world, womanhood is acclaimed.

Among many great and important women, Mother Teresa (1910-1997) was one of the most charitable and inspirational women to be remembered.

As a Roman Catholic nun, ARTS

The first exhibition of the Henry Lehmann Gallery this semester is a solo show featuring the work of Vanier Communications student Mélusine Deirdre Abram. "Innocent Until Proven Gay" features five 30 by 40 inch illustration boards with an enlarged fingerprint on each board. Each fingerprint is from the fingers on the artist's right hand, and they are in the colors of the lesbian flag.

This exhibition opened on Wednesday March 4th at UB, coinciding with Women’s Week at Vanier College. It was the perfect occasion to celebrate the diversity of experiences of women in our community.

Mélusine’s motivation to create this gallery show came from her desire to show her true self, and stop self-denying her identity. “I wanted to stop putting myself aside. This is me, this is who I am”.

Her original idea for the show was to have her personal story of coming out as a small part of her show, but Mother Teresa, also known as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, devoted her life to the service of the impoverished all around the world.

For a long period of time, she remained in Calcutta, India, where she founded a religious congregation dedicated to reaching out to the destitute, which took the name of the Missionaries of Charity.

The 1979 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Mother Teresa, and she became a symbol of charitable humanitarian work, as she always put the neighbour’s needs before her own. Later in 2016, she was canonized by Pope Francis as Saint Teresa. as she developed her ideas, her experience of coming out as lesbian was what she wanted to foreground in her work.

Although her work in this exhibition tells her story, she says that “It’s my fingerprints and my identity, but I want to represent the whole community. We’re all there”. And this notion of inclusivity of all members of the LGBTQ+ community was what inspired Mélusine’s titles, which denote mass shootings against members of the community, and highlights the ongoing hate crimes repeatedly happening to LGBTQ+ people worldwide.

I, the Head Curator of the gallery along with the new gallery assistant Luis E. Montero Tello were interested in the memetic nature of the hand when curating this exhibition. Based on each fingerprint’s placement of the wall of the gallery and the off-center balance of the show, we wanted to replicate the motion of a palm facing upwards, the gallery being in the artist’s grasp.

At the age of twelve, she joined the Loreto nuns and moved to Darjeeling, India when she was eighteen years old. Then, she taught at a school named St. Mary’s, which was run by the nuns.

She could have stayed comfortably as the headmistress of St. Mary’s, but she chose to answer God’s calling: to leave her comfort zone and to serve the poor. For her vocation, Mother Teresa knew she had a heart for children, so she went straight to them.

Her work expanded globally. As of 2013, there were already 700 missions existing in more than 130 nations. Their work also grew

This is exactly what Mélusine is doing through her work, as she is claiming her identity and displaying it proudly to others, by her own volition.

Mélusine said the experience of seeing her work in the gallery was unreal. She was really happy to see so many people come to her opening, and to have attendees come up to her and ask about her work.

Someone Mélusine was very thankful to have along her journey was Keith Orkusz, her drawing teacher in Communications. She says that she has become a completely different person between now and the beginning of her time in college, and she says Keith was a big part of that.

“He really pushed me, and he helped me believe in myself.” Mélusine explained.

He was the third person in Mélusine’s life that she confided in about her sexuality. She said “It was a hard day, and he was there for me through everything”. to a scale that included orphanages and homes for the dying, a space where the dying could die with dignity.

A famous quote from Mother Teresa is: “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across

She said very warmly that Keith is like a dad to her, and that she wants to thank him for helping her in her journey.

As for future plans, Mélusine wants to put together more art shows. She said she is interested in the whole process and of course in making the artwork. Career wise, she wants to become a tattoo artist.

Mélusine wants to continue to speak to subjects that are personal in her work such as issues of identity and the LGBTQ+ community. She wants to help erase the stigma and ignorance surrounding the community, stating that “we’re here, and we don’t mean any harm”.

She wants to create works that will help people feel, and begin to understand the adversity faced by LGBTQ+ people.

When asking Mélusine for advice for people who are not “out” with their sexuality, she said to “take your time, because it is very hard, but be gentle. You’re the waters to create many ripples.”

Other well-known sayings of hers include “Intense love does not measure; it just gives”, and “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

Other awards granted to doing nothing wrong.”. One might say there is no need to feel guilty, as no crime was committed through you being your authentic self.

Mélusine would like to thank everyone who came to her opening, she was

Mother Teresa include the first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971), the Nehru Prize “for the promotion of international peace and understanding” (1972), the States Presidential Medal of Freedom (1985), and the Honorary Citizenship of the United States (1996).

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” - Mother Teresa

Although it has been more than a decade since Mother Teresa has passed away, she will forever be remembered as a great woman who prays ceaselessly, and who never gives up on

"Innocent Until Proven Gay" Gallery Exhibition Opening India-Lynn Upshaw-Ruffner

loving her neighbours. pleasantly surprised by all of the support she received.

If you have not seen “Innocent Until Proven Gay” in the gallery yet, it will be up until April 7th.

Photo: India-Lynn Upshaw-Ruffner

Untitled Janie Houle

No Name Anna Rafaella René Sun blowing on the window One question, Am I woman enough?

Night creeping in Fear instead of joy, When walking the street

Silence of the day, For one of our thoughts, Interrupted

Keisha Wells* Angels, Took her to paradise

Water whistled Washing away, The dirt of their last scene

Untitled Chloe Martin

*Keisha Wells was a transgender woman killed in Cleveland

JewleryBox Fin 5, 6, 7, 8 Relevé: She balanced on her steel toes Wrapped in satin.

1, 2, 3, 4 Pirouette: She glanced at her reflection With every spin.

5, 6, 7, 8 With every turn, strands of hair Fell in her face. 1, 2, 3, 4 She became enveloped in tulle, And pink lace.

5, 6, 7, 8 When she finished her dance, The audience stood to clap,

Until the music stopped, And the lid closed shut With a snap.

A nihilist dreamer Sophie Dufresne I'm a nihilist dreamer, One who finds happiness and serenity in gazing at the stars. Letting my anxieties drift away, Into the constellations, And merging with the void, I breathe in the cool night air, And let my mind drift away.

The city lights dim the array of stars, But the brightest ones let their light beam through, Lighting up the sky with incomplete constellations, And allowing the imagination of the stargazer to fill in the blanks.