The Long Beach Post, in partnership with The Center Long Beach, alternative fine art gallery Flazh!Alley Art Studio in San Pedro, and the Beijing LGBT Center, will be streaming live the the U.S. premiere of the paper cutting masterpieces of Beijing artist Xiyadie (pronounced Zhee-yá-dee) tonight at 7:00pm. The artist’s work — what The Advocate appropriately called “Lighthearted and joyous, yet intense and revolutionary” — has been publicly prohibited in China due to its same-sex themed content.
The framed masterpieces will be available for purchase with proceeds benefitting The Center’s numerous programs and services. The exhibition tonight includes an artist meet-and-greet and discussion forum as well as a live paper-cutting performance that is part of The Center’s QSpeak lecture and performance series.
Titled “Metamorphosis of a Butterfly: A Kaleidoscopic Vision of Life by a Gay Chinese Artist,” the exhibit will include more than 50 works celebrating same-sex love and life struggle transcending the harsh discrimination and social stigma experienced by the LGBTQ community in China. Also included in the exhibit will be works showing the artist’s struggle as a gay, married father of a daughter and son, the latter severely disabled by cerebral palsy. The exhibit will run through July 14.
For those wishing to attend tonight’s special event or to see the exhibit, Flazh!Alley Art Studio is located at 1113 S. Pacific Ave., Suite B in San Pedro. Parking is available in the large city parking lot behind Ramona Bakery at Pacific & 11th Street. Enter from the alley. Adults 18 and older. For more information, call 310-833-3633 or visit www.flazhalleystudio.com or www.facebook.com/QSpeak.