Brian Oldham Offers Free Portraits To LGBQT+ Community On Oct. 26 | The Initiative Is Done In Part With The Help Of The Pabst Blue Ribbon Open Door Grant Program
LA-based, LGBTQ fine art photographer, Brian Oldham, and his incredible initiative will offer complimentary professional portraits for the queer community in DTLA’s Arts District next Tuesday, 10/26 from 4:00pm – 8:00pm.
Earlier this year, Brian Oldham was selected as one of the five winners from Pabst Blue Ribbon’s Open Door Grant Program, a contest that awarded five individuals $5,000 to take their new or existing art projects to the next level. Oldham, a bright young and self-taught artist, began taking photographs at 16, soon found his niche specializing in self-portrait and conceptual photography using a wide variety of mediums. With this the grant money, he will advocate for the queer community by offering professional photography for individuals to use to help advance their own careers.
Sign-up online here.
– Brian Oldham
The project is focused on re-contextualising queer people’s place in America, through art and accessible professional resources. By photographing queer people in the aesthetic of traditional American symbols, it’s my aim to help claim America as a place for us all- while also offering headshots and professional services for my peers. By tangibly helping individual queer and trans people towards their own career success, I hope to build into a more inclusive future for marginalized community members. Essentially- the goal of the project is to help to create an equal playing field, by taking on both the cultural and physical barriers that so many queer and trans people face. I was inspired by the quote: “you can’t do everything, but you can do something”- that I discovered sticky-noted to my Grandmother’s fridge. It’s so easy to feel helpless, but this is something that I can do to help create the future that I want to see.”
Pabst Blue Ribbon’s Open Door Program is just one initiative launched to help support creatives in the arts. Most recently, submissions for the 10th Edition of the PBR Art Can Contest have officially opened for 2022 where artists will again have the opportunity to have their winning artwork featured on millions of PBR cans. To commemorate this 10th milestone and 400 million cans later, the brand will increase 10x its creative commitment, upping the winners’ prize money to $100k and expanding the contest to entrants across the globe.
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