Picturing Kinship: Lenore Chinn

June 9, 2017
Picturing Kinship: Portraits of our Community by Lenore Chinn
Exhibition through September 24
GLBT Museum, 7pm
wheelchair accessible
Curated by Dr. Tirza True Latimer

Local cultural and social justice activist and artist Lenore Chinn has been documenting the San Francisco Bay Area LGBT community for more than 30 years. She moved to the Castro District in the 1980s, and as the AIDS epidemic affected her life, she started painting portraits of people in the community. Chinn made a name for herself as an excellent realist painter of women, people of color and the LGBT community. Her work often aims to fight cultural stereotypes by showcasing minorities and homosexuality.

In recent years, she has shifted to photography. Her photographs have been included in exhibitions at local museums and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific-American Center.

The exhibition at the GLBT History Museum highlights numerous paintings by Lenore Chinn from the 1980s to the 2000s, as well as six photographs of local LGBT activists.

Biography

Local cultural and social justice activist and artist Lenore Chinn has been documenting the San Francisco Bay Area LGBT community for more than 30 years. A second-generation Asian American, Chinn received an associate degree in advertising art and design in 1970 from City College of San Francisco. In 1972, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from San Francisco State University. She moved to the Castro District in the 1980s, and as the AIDS epidemic affected her life, she started painting portraits of people in the community. Chinn soon made a name for herself as an excellent realist painter of women, people of color and the LGBT community. Her work often aims to fight cultural stereotypes by showcasing minorities and homosexuality.

Chinn was a founding member of the Lesbians in the Visual Arts and Queer Cultural Center (QCC). In addition, she participates in many local activist groups, as well as the Asian American Women’s Artist Association. In recent years, she has shifted to photography. Her photographs have been included in exhibitions at local museums and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific-American Center. As a photographer, she documents many exhibitions of her artist friends, as well as local cultural events including those at the GLBT Historical Society. She has spoken at the College Art Association, Women’s Caucus for Art and participates as a lecturer in local university courses. Chinn has exhibited her paintings at Pacific Union College and the National Arts Club, and is featured in numerous publications.