Queer Eyes, Queer Lives: A photo exhibit of 2SLGBTQIA+ youths’ substance use, homelessness, and resiliencies

This must-see exhibition showcases photography from over 60 2SLGBTQIA+ youth who participated in UBC research studies on drug use. These young artists, aged 14 – 29, have created a body of work that largely centres around identity, substance use, housing, and mental health – the results are powerful and challenging, providing a visual snapshot of how 2SLGBTQIA+ youth grapple with these issues. Participation in these research studies was confidential and the artists consented to these photographs being shared, with many adopting pseudonyms or fake names. Coordinated by university researchers Christian Barborini and Trevor Goodyear, together with the Substance Use Beyond the Binary Youth Action Committee, Queer Eyes, Queer Lives offers a visual reflection of how 2SLGBTQIA+ youth in Vancouver are building homes and lives of substance for themselves despite overlapping injustices faced. Queer Eyes, Queer Lives is generously supported by the University of British Columbia, Cannapix, the Canadian Institute of Health Research, and British Columbia Centre on Substance Use.