Imagine a junior high, where you are free to be your true self. A junior high where you can have hard conversations that are met with support, instead of judgment. A junior high that embraces the creativity and experiences of those in the QTBIPOC community. A junior high that has no room for judgment but opens its arms to empathy and authenticity. A junior high where you have a safe space to find out who you truly are.
Well, you don’t have to imagine it. It already exists in Glendale, Calf. about 20 minutes from Los Angeles. Junior High Los Angeles offers you the ability to reclaim the seemingly awkward space of your pre-teen years.
Junior High is a non-profit community art gallery and event space that features local QTBIPOC artists and hosts peer support groups, art workshops, workout nights, tattoo nights, a monthly book club and more.
Eden Hain, Executive Director of Junior High, explained how the founder of Junior High Faye Orlove, came up with the name. It would not only look good as a neon sign, but it’s also a reclamation of the middle school experience and a second puberty.
“A lot of queer people were not able to fully explore themselves as young people and now as an adult were sort of like ‘Ah, how do I move around the world like this, no one really taught me,’” said Hain.
They are booked with an event almost every day. Hain said that a lot of the events are pitched from community members and then selected on importance by looking at what people are yearning to see and attend.
One example is Insulative Collective, a peer BIPOC support group that’s hosted weekly by Briana Boyd.
The peer group was started as Boyd felt isolated in her own life, and wanted to create a space for individuals to come together in community to support each other. You can come as you are and discuss themes such as interracial relations.
“That really is kind of the beauty of peer support,” said Boyd. “It is different and it can only come when you niche it down… and have a safe space culturally for people.”
There is a lot of information and resources out there around mental health support, but depending on your circumstance you may not have access to it. For many of the attendees, the support group is the closest thing to receiving mental health support they have access to.
Beyond the fun activities that you can participate in, the workshops are meant to help you on a deeper level by teaching how to build something and express yourself. Junior High has a focus on art, expression, and expression through arts to help you experiment and learn about yourself.
Junior High holds local LGBTQ+ artists close
One main aspect of Junior High is the community art gallery, where QTBIPOC artists display their art.
You can always find an artist on display who specialize in different mediums, from ceramics, watercolors, sculptures and oil pastels.
Hold Me Close is the current exhibit showing at Junior High by artists Maya Taniguchi Ruiz and Racheal Chan. Hold Me Close is a collection of the things that can bring healing, joy, and the motivation to keep on going even when daily life gets hard.
Their friendship all started three years ago over Zoom, when Chan was a teacher’s assistant in an art class that Ruiz was taking. Over the course of their friendship, they quickly realized that they both valued much of the same things.
About a year ago when Chelsie Riveral, curator and art instructor at Junior High, reached out to Ruiz to inquire about creating a gallery show, it was only fitting that it quickly turned into a collaboration show with Chan.
“Knowing that you’re making a show with your best friend, the show ends up becoming about friendship in a way, and holding each other close,” said Ruiz.
Although Chan and Ruiz have different artistic styles, their art overlaps in the ideas and the things they care about.
Their art blends together naturally, filling the gallery with a cohesive theme of not only healing and joyousness, but deeper emotions that go beyond the eye.
“It just was so rewarding. I remember when we finished setting up and we took a step back… and I felt like crying so much because it’s like, “this is our friendship. This show is just the epitome of our friendship,”’ said Chan.
For Ruiz and Chan, Junior High was the first space where they were able to create the exhibit of their dreams. They explained that it’s not only because they regularly attend Junior High, but it is also a space where you can be yourself and have the freedom of creativity and playfulness.
Having spaces like these, “makes me feel really hopeful as a queer artist,” said Ruiz.
Ruiz said that in the male dominated art world, Junior High is a space that relentlessly stands up for what they believe in and makes you feel like you belong simply for being who you are.
Out in the world, there is a gap in who is getting funding and who is put on a pedestal to get their work shown. However at Junior High, Hain said that anyone can submit to show their work in the community art gallery. Artists are chosen based on the integrity of the art itself.
Junior High expands community through art
When Hain joined Junior High, they collaborated with Orlove to bring in other mediums such as live music, starting to expand its focus from only visual arts to all art mediums.
In addition to the events pitched by community members, the Junior High staff generate in-house programming such as talent shows, to bring in live music, and Clay Date, to build a space of art and community.
“I see people hurting and I see people desperately needing accessible priced programming. Just because you are dealing with the poverty cycle doesn’t mean that you don’t get to feel joy,” said Hain.
Hain explained that one way you get through being poor is by being in community. Junior High prioritizes accessibility, and that includes financial. When it comes to students, members of the QTBIPOC community, or being low income, you might qualify for discounted ticketing at a Junior High event.
Junior High is a space that Glendale needs. It’s a space of inclusivity, accessibility, creativity, expression and so much more. The space receives people from all around Greater Los Angeles who need an escape from the conservative communities where they are from.
You can read more about Junior High, view their event calendar or donate by visiting their website at http://juniorhighlosangeles.com/
