Grace Hosts Reception and Panel for “Love Makes a Family” Exhibit

The “Love Makes a Family” photo exhibit will be on display at Houston art spaces and houses of worship from April 17 through May 29.

The exhibit, by photographer Gigi Kaeser, features portraits of families headed by Lesbians, Gay men, Bisexuals and Transgender people (LGBT). Kaeser further challenges the viewer’s concept of “nuclear family” by selecting for her portraits families with bi-racial couples, children with impairments, children and parents of different races and families with non-resident members.

The exhibit includes text providing the photographic subjects’ own definitions of what “family” means.

A reception celebrating the exhibit’s tour in Houston will be held at Grace Lutheran Church on May 7th from 6-9 pm. The reception is cosponsored by Grace and the Transgender Foundation of America (TFA) and will include a speakers panel. Grace Lutheran Church is located at 2515 Waugh Dr.

“As an adopted child I grew up looking ‘different’ than my parents, and in a family that was ‘different’ than my peers’,” said Lou Weaver, President of the Houston based TFA. “I’ve seen families headed by LGBT people eyed with the same suspicion, parents asked ‘who’s the “real” mother’ by complete strangers. This exhibit is not about changing the definition of ‘family.’ Rather, it’s about helping people see that our sometimes narrow view of ‘family’ doesn’t always encompass all of the beauty and diversity of reality.”

According to a 2005 study by the Williams institute, 20% of same-sex couples in Texas are raising children, with approximately 17,000 children living with families headed by same-sex couples. More than 3% of the children adopted in Texas are adopted by Lesbians or Gay men.

In a letter to the Family Diversity Projects, which created the exhibit, Martin Luther King III wrote, “Thank you for the opportunity to view a powerful expression of truth by many families. May change come from those who have the opportunity to view it."