Quil Lemons has organized a group exhibition titled "American Faggot Party" at Twenty Summers, a nonprofit arts space in a former schoolhouse in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The show, on view through September 28, features works by Lemons alongside peers and elders including Ryan McGinley, Ocean Vuong, and the late Felix Gonzalez-Torres. It reimagines James Montgomery Flagg's iconic wartime poster as a call to arms for queer community, blending protest, tenderness, and celebration. Contributing artists such as Diego Villarreal Vagujhelyi, Myles Loftin, and Slava Mogutin describe their works as intimate rallying cries for visibility and endurance.
The exhibition matters because it directly confronts rising political threats to queer existence in America, framing art as both a love letter and a warning. Lemons conceived the show after the January 6 insurrection, seeing it as a response to potential fascist resurgence. By centering queer bodies and histories in a historic LGBTQ+ destination, the project asserts that American culture is indebted to queer creativity. It also highlights the resilience of artists who navigate multiple marginalized identities, making the show a timely statement on art's role in social and political reckoning.