LOVE MONTH is a photo-cinematic publication documenting queer identity, faith, and love, in Upstate South Carolina.
Key Takeaways:
Love is a radical force that breaks down social and cultural barriers across the world.
Queer love exists in tension between the individual and tradition — a tension that makes the act so radically beautiful.
Creativity is the labor of love and a source of inspiration for queer artists.
Director’s Note
Queer identities are under attack - specifically our transgender community.
Our lived reality has become politicized. Our capacity to love has become weaponized. But even the alchemist teaches us that love is the universal language - creating unity in the midst of global chaos. This campaign has been the most emotionally demanding experience The Arthouse has undertaken.
As a queer man in the south, I know firsthand what it means to have my life reduced to a debate. I know what it feels like to have to negotiate my capacity to love. I know what it means to be rendered silent by those who choose the love of religion over … love.
Rather than engage in debate, this campaign holds up a mirror that reveals the reality of queer people in this current cultural zeitgeist. Queer love has always existed in spaces not traditionally built for us, silently or explicitly.
I’d like to give a special thank you to the Uplift Outreach Center, PFlag Spartanburg, and the independent artists who had the courage to take part in this movement.
Love is a radical force that breaks down social and cultural barriers. I’m not here to persuade you. I’m not here to debate.
I’m here to let the art do the talking.
Truth over Vanity
The individuals involved include the Uplift Outreach Center, their Director, and some youth participants. A few wish to not be named, but the individuals who are okay with being quoted are: Pierce J, Penny G, and Director Jodi Snyder. The role of the Center in this project is to connect VRTY with young queer artists as well as providing a space for the campaign shoot.
The other nonprofit is PFlag Spartanburg. Their role in this campaign involved consulting on messaging and assistance with distribution.
VRTY Arthouse released a casting call and secured several independent queer artists willing to participate. Their names are: Gavin Ashby, Anna Heller, Rachel Gasdia, Isaiah Colón, Mace Kemp, Rocky La Belle, Donovan Jones, Tala Moore, and Autumn Mitchell. Their role was model participation as well as providing quotes of their stories.
The final participant was Spartanburg City Councilwoman Erica Brown. Her role was to represent a generational role model for the youth to look up to, as a queer woman sitting in a leadership role here in the South. All participants are from Spartanburg and Greenville.
Kylan Stephon Hayes is the Founder and Executive Director of VRTY Arthouse®, a creative production house and social enterprise based in Spartanburg, South Carolina. A fashion designer, media producer, and cultural strategist, Kylan built VRTY as an institutional framework for arthouse creativity rooted in social commentary and truth. Under his direction, the House has produced regional media campaigns, editorial publications, and fashion collections that operate at the intersection of art, culture, and civic life.
According to Hayes, “As a queer man and a Christian, my life sits in tension between identity and tradition. I’ve experienced depression, suicidal ideation, and isolation due to my lived experience being misunderstood by those closest to me. In meeting the queer youth at Uplift Outreach Center, I was moved deeply in the sense that they reminded me of who I was as a teenager just figuring things out. This project is personal to me as a creative director and as a human. I am blessed with the opportunity to create something that can hopefully change the life of another queer young person in the future.
“My goal in this project is to eliminate any form of debate that constantly bombards the life of any queer person. I merely sought to hold up a mirror revealing the reality that we face every single day. Our life exists in tension, and this campaign is therefore visually tense. I don’t seek to cause any form of discourse, but to reveal a reality for many queer people that often goes ignored or exists as an elephant in the room.”
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