MOCA Artist Film Series: Sharon Hayes
Ricerche: four, 2024, 80 min.

MOCA Artist Film Series is presented by The Edward F. Limato Foundation.

Ricerche: four, 2024 is composed of interviews with three groups of LGBTQIA elders, filmed in Philadelphia, PA, Dowelltown, TN, and in Los Angeles, CA. Through joyful, illuminating, and deeply moving conversations, participants reflect on their relationships to community, family, activism, sex, sexuality, and the shifting political landscape. While not all participants identify as elders, each speaks from deep, lived experience that shapes their understanding of the social, political, and economic promises and possibilities — as well as the obstacles — facing them and their communities. These conversations make an inspired proposition for the importance of intergenerational collaboration, dialogue and care. Ricerche: four is one part of a 4-part video series that steps off Pier Paolo Pasolini’s brilliant 1964 film, Comizi d’Amore, to stage a contemporary inquiry into the “sexual problem” in the US.

Participants from Los Angeles, CA: Judith Branzburg, Marie Cartier, SheAh Prince Eternal, Verónica Flores, Ridge Gonzalez, Rita C. Gonzales, Loretta Lorraine, Nu’Diamond, Robin Podolsky, Elena Popp, Bamby Salcedo, Simone Wallace, Carolyn Weathers, Queen Unique Ziar.

Sharon Hayes will be present for a post-screening conversation with Loretta Loraine, Bamby Salcedo, Carolyn Weathers, and SheAh Prince Eternal.

Sharon Hayes is an artist who works with video, performance, sound, and public sculpture to reveal the intersections of history, politics, and speech. Her work challenges reductive historical narratives and reactivates overlooked pathways for developing alternative understandings of today’s political landscape. Hayes’ practice engages in dialogue and collective resonance with a diverse range of actions, voices, and practices that resist normative behaviors, unjust social contracts, and rigid timelines—opening up new possibilities for how we live and relate to one another in the world.

Her work sustains a distinct and vital commitment to perfor­mance and to collaboration and is devoted to the radical possibilities of non-normative occupation of public space and in holding public space as a site for unpredictable and unregulated encounters. Hayes has had numerous solo exhibitions, including at the Andrea Rosen Gallery in New York (2014), the Tanya Leighton Gallery in Berlin (2013), the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York (2012), and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid (2012). Her work has also been exhibited at the Venice Biennale (2013), the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. She is the recipient of many awards and grants, including a Pew Fellowship (2016), a Guggenheim Fellowship (2014), the Alpert Award in Visual Arts (2013), an Anonymous Was a Woman Award (2013), and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship (2007). She currently teaches in the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Legendary Miss Loretta Lorraine began performing in show clubs in 1968, and continues performing to this day. In addition to her performance work, she is active in activism and policy work aimed at supporting the transgender community, as well as AIDS research and support. She has recently been featured in the feature length documentary, “Trillion Cut: Diamonds of Resilience”, available to view on YouTube.

Bamby Salcedo’s wide-ranging activist work has brought visibility and given a voice to not only the trans community, but to countless others whose efforts focus on critical topics that include immigration, HIV, at-risk youth, LGBTQIA+ issues, incarceration, and more. Through her dynamic leadership, Bamby has developed several organizations that have created networks and connections where there were none, and she, to this day, tirelessly advocates for the rights, dignity, and humanity of those who are often silenced. Determined to affect change at every level, Bamby actively engages and supports many local, national, and international organizations and planning groups.

As a recognized public speaker, Bamby’s experience has an extensive range. She has expertise in presenting to governmental bodies, human rights and social justice organizations, and universities and colleges, as well as speaking at demonstrations and rallies and testifying as an expert witness. Bamby has also appeared at national and international conferences as a featured speaker. She speaks to diverse audiences on varied topics and intersecting issues that include transgender-related issues, social justice, healthcare, social services, incarceration, immigration, and detention as well as professional and economic development for transgender people.

Thanks to her impassioned and impactful influence, Bamby has been invited several times by the White House to participate on a multitude of panels. In 2015, she proudly shared the stage with President Biden at the United States of Women Summit and later that same year she spoke at the Transgender Women of Color and Violence and LGBTQ People of Color Summit. In 2021, Bamby visited the White House again to speak as an invited guest and valued advocate on the issues of safety, inclusion, as well as opportunities for transgender individuals. Bamby was also invited to testify before Congress to speak on the Equal Rights Amendment with the ERA Coalition, for which Bamby serves as a board member. Bamby was humbly honored to participate in the hearing and always ensures that our elected officials learn firsthand how people are impacted by the policies and laws they create.

Carolyn Weathers moved from Texas to Los Angeles in 1968, to take part in the burgeoning counterculture, and has been an LGBTQ activist since 1970, as a member of the Los Angeles Gay Liberation Front. She is a former librarian with the Los Angeles Public Library, a writer, and co-founder, with Jenny Wrenn, of a small press lesbian book publishing company (1987-1994). In 2015, she received the Heritage Award from the City of Los Angeles for her "exceptional achievements and dedication to improve the quality of life for the LGBT community in the City of Los Angeles."

SheAh Prince Eternal, is a name I chose in 2007 to reflect my sacred embodiment of both masculine and feminine energies. I am nonbinary, a Shaman, and a holistic practitioner offering transformational guidance in self-worth, healing, and empowerment.As a singer, writer, inspirational abstract artist, entertainer, and dancer, I live to uplift and inspire. I also officiate weddings, celebrations of life, and other sacred milestones. My updated website with courses, art, and offerings is coming soon. Let’s co-create something meaningful and magical.

MOCA Artist Film Series is organized by Bennett Simpson, Senior Curator with Alitzah Oros, Public Programming Associate and Michele Huizar, Performance Coordinator, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Please note: RSVP does not guarantee entry. Entry will be on a first come first serve basis.

Click here for more information on other films in the series.