50 Years of Lesbian Art: Sinister Wisdom's Creative Legacies

Co-curated by Bell Beecher Pitkin and Juno Rosenhaus

Presented at the Dyke+ArtHaus, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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October 17, 2026 - December 20, 2026


50 Years of Lesbian Art: Sinister Wisdom’s Creative Legacies brings together visual artists who have contributed to or been shaped by Sinister Wisdom across its 50-year history. Founded in 1976 by Catherine Nicholson and Harriet Desmoines, Sinister Wisdom emerged as a vital platform for lesbian-feminists to explore their experiences, share dreams, and build community through creative expression. Since its inception, the journal has offered space for authors, activists, and artists whose work has historically been excluded from mainstream publications and institutions.

Artists such as Tee Corinne, JEB, Jean Weisinger, Laura Aguilar, Leonore Chinn, Alison Bechdel, and many others have contributed to the journal’s powerful visual legacy— claiming space for lesbian identity in the arts and shaping a shared cultural archive.

This exhibition honors that legacy by showcasing works spanning the journal’s five decades of publication through a multigenerational lens. It brings together artists from the early years of Sinister Wisdom with radical voices of the 1990s and contemporary artists who continue to expand the horizons of lesbian art today. In celebrating the journal’s 50th anniversary in 2026, this exhibition seeks not only to honor the artists who have contributed to this legacy, but also to inspire future generations and affirm the continuing presence, and necessity, of lesbian art in our collective cultural landscape.