My proposed series Country Queer counters the myth that rural spaces are heteronormative by documenting the history and normalcy of being Queer in rural places. The project partners with farms in Nebraska to create site-specific installations combining interview audio, relief prints, and archival material. The imagery harnesses surrealistic elements to decentralize the figure, inviting heteronormative viewers to empathize with Queer folks experientially by taking on their point-of-view. For Queer people the work fosters solidarity by representing their experiences.  

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The first installation at Art Farm in Marquette, NE (May 2022) pairs my experiences farming with content from seminal (often Sapphic) magazine Country Woman, a back-to-the-land movement publication running from 1970-1973 which encouraged women to find self-sufficiency. 

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My second installation at McKelvie Farm will address the contemporary landscape lesbian farmers navigate. In 2016 the USDA held its summit Rural Pride. Conservative writer, Elizabeth Harington, mocked the program, writing in the Washington Free Beacon “the all-day summit will teach lesbian and transgender hillbillies how to get subsidies from the government.” Rush Limbaugh gleefully tugged at this line, claiming lesbians would systematically destroy rural America. To counter this narrative Queer artists rallied around the “America Needs Lesbian Farmers” hashtag. The installation at McKelvie Farm will contrast the media coverage with interviews and portrayals of Audra Loyal and her wife, who are lesbian homesteaders. 

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The subject of my third work is a Queer woman of color choosing to remain anonymous. She worries her Queerness will undermine the family business and jeopardies her financially as she puts herself through med school. Building interiors at Shadowbrook Farm will narrate her experience while the exteriors scrutinize how country Queers are depicted in popular culture.     

Through drawing attention to country Queers I hope to broaden the scope of rural narratives and to help my fellow Queers see themselves reflected. We are men, women, and nonbinary, highly educated, without education, white collar, blue collar, and we are all hard-working country folk. We are scattered across the plains, valleys, and mountains of America. I can’t think of a more rebellious and stake-your-claim attitude than: We’re here. We’re Queer. Get used to it.