Editor’s note: The following is the fifth installment in a new series of interviews with emerging LGBT leaders.
Brian Addison is an artist, an intellectual, and a writer who serves as the editor-in-chief of Get Out LB, a web-based magazine that presents an alternative look at Long Beach’s LGBTQ community. It is through Get Out LB that Addison hopes to present members of the LGBTQ community with an open forum with which to air their thoughts and opinions. It is an antidote to the standard publications that tend to focus on politics, gay events, and sex appeal, as it wants to show the full range of experience and thought within the LGBTQ community, including the arts.
Question: How did you become interested in the arts?
A: It is kind of a random story. I originally wanted to go to med school, but a few philosophy courses caused me to reconsider. I moved to Tanzania to figure stuff out, as part of the Global Volunteer Network to establish a more efficient HIV education program. Most of the [Nongovernmental programs] were done through a religious lens, as Tanzania is a heavily religious state comprised of mainly Muslims and Catholics. Being gay there is actually still a crime. The program was unorganized and I ended up becoming involved with an orphanage where I got the kids, ages 8-12, to paint the walls and chairs.
When I finally did get to an HIV education program, I helped HIV patients to express themselves through performance. Women were hit hardest by the disease, and they would sometimes express themselves through performance, dance, or readings. I had a play where they would act like people who were HIV-, or like men. They were originally uncomfortable playing the role of men, but through role play they could act out the way the disease impacted both genders differently. The men would live in denial and act as though they did not have the disease, while the women would tell others and seek treatment, ultimately being branded as outcasts for it.
It took me going to Africa to come back to the arts. My experiences there led me to sign up for the MFA program at Long Beach State.
Question: What do you think is the future of the arts in Long Beach?
A: Good question. I have faith in it. If it does go anywhere, it will be driven by the youth of Long Beach. When I talk to my friends who are artists, they are frustrated. Our phrase is, Long Beach is always up and coming, but never it is never up and never comes. Long Beach is allergic to change. We are not LA or Orange County, so people become comfortable with our image. The economic recession will lead to a creative explosion because when people don’t have money it forces them to reevaluate what really matters to them. Critical reflection spurs creativity.
Take knitbombing, for example. Somehow this group in New York knitted the entire Merryl Lynch Bull in hyperfeminine colors. It is starting in Long Beach, as people are knitbombing in various areas. Street Art is booming in Long Beach. The TED conferences have helped tremendously by exposing local artists to international artists usually reserved for LA. We have a dedicated group [of artists] that wants to stay in Long Beach and help the city realize its potential. I certainly do.
Question: How did you get involved in GetOutLB.com?
A: A close friend of mine and fellow artist Sal Flores, who got his BFA at Long Beach State in painting, started it in 2009 with a group of people. It went defunct because they stopped writing. Sal is a creator, not a writer, and he approached me to take over. I ignored him at first because I thought it was just a blog. He re-approached me and explained to me his goal and reasoning for the project. He felt that that the LGBT community was so disconnected, and that hit home for me. Gay men and lesbians do not hang out and bisexuals are largely invisible. He expressed an idea about bringing them together in a place that does not require too much commitment. I told him if you expect there to be a commitment from people, then it needs to be an intelligent forum of ideas.
Question: What are your major goals for GetOutLB.com?
A: I have two major goals: the first is to eradicate the disconnect I mentioned earlier. I want it to be a place where our community can come together, share their frustrations, and reach out to one another. I was adamant about including our straight friends, especially our straight female friends who gay men have a special affinity for, and help us bridge the gap with heterosexual men. I love our community; I have met so many artists, intellectuals, politicians [here in Long Beach] and we are not recognized.
There is a section called AnonynOUT, which lets people submit pieces dealing with life in the city anonymously. It came from people who wanted to contribute, but could possibly lose their jobs, sponsors, and friends. I am trying to reach out to our community on all levels so they have no excuse not to contribute.
Question: What special perspective, if any, do you think the LGBT community brings to the arts?
A: Their work settles more on our struggle and frustrations. We have not reached the ideal world that we want , but we are realistic that Utopia does not exist. The LGBT artists showcase the basic struggles of acceptance and social castigation. Their art helps keep discrimination, whether sexism or racism, in the spotlight, even in our own community. There is a myth that the LGBT community is happy and unified, when in reality we are divided and stratified. The [LGBT] artists help bring old-school basic human rights struggles to the front. They serve as our conscience , both for the LGBT community, and society as a whole.