The LGBTQ Movement Was Queer by (X) Design

What’s so queer about LGBTQ design? And how did it power a social movement of millions? This wide-ranging conversation dives deep into art historian Andy Campbell’s recent book Queer X Design: 50 Years of Signs, Symbols, Banners, Logos, and Graphic Art of LGBTQ, to illustrate the vitality and political force of LGBTQ design, explore the lives, loves, and legacies of LGBTQ generations across decades, and punctuate the elegance of resistance as art. From lurid lesbian pulp novel covers of the 1950s, to Gilbert Baker’s rainbow pride flag (1978); from the first queer video game (Caper in the Castro, 1989), to the power of #BlackLivesMatter symbology (2013), author Campbell and longtime cohort, moderator/journalist Kate X Messer, aim to unspool the histories and mysteries of queer design.

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

photo of Andy Campbell
Andy Campbell

USC-Roski School of Art and Design

photo of Kate Messer
Kate Messer

City of Austin

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