Artist’s Statement
I am an 80-year-old Jewish, Butch, Lesbian Feminist, Leather Daddy, and cancer survivor. My art focuses on cultural preservation, feminism, and LGBTQIA+ social movements. Fifty years ago, there was a fervor fighting for human rights, ending racism and misogyny, struggling for LGBTQIA+ rights, and eventually working together to advocate for HIV/AIDS research. We did not know at that time that we had signed up for life. Now, more than ever, we cannot be complacent.
Dead Dykes & Some Gay Men will remember and celebrate the lives of LGBTQIA+ ancestors and their contributions. The project feels like one enormously entwined self-portrait. To paint and document their lives is to paint and document my own — my activism and theirs feel interconnected.
I want to preserve the stories, histories, and joys of LGBTQIA+ communities. My art strives to demonstrate how our queer and trans ancestors laid the foundations for our liberation, raised consciousness, and challenged homophobia and transphobia. And most of all, I want to inspire younger generations and community members to be brave. We must continue fighting to maintain and secure the freedoms we have today and beyond. We must fight against erasure.
For there are histories yet to be written…
Arleen Olshan is a visual artist and handcrafter of custom leather accessories who uses her artistic practice to preserve LGBTQIA+ history and pass it forward. She has been active in the LGBTQIA+ and Feminist Communities for nearly 60 years in Philadelphia and beyond.
Beginning in the late 1960s, Arleen worked with Radicalesbians and the Gay Activist Alliance. She was the co-coordinator of the original Gay & Lesbian Community Center (now William Way). From 1976–1986, she was the co-owner of Giovanni’s Room, the oldest LGBTQIA+ and Feminist bookstore in the country.
In addition to her continued activism, Arleen has also fostered creative communities through her work as a teaching artist. She was the co-founder of the Mt. Airy Art Garage, a Northwest Philadelphia arts hub, gallery, and studio space where she worked for 14 years. Olshan curated exhibitions, educational programs with youth and seniors, and collaborations with art and theatre communities. Arleen has always wanted to do meaningful work, where she could be “Out & Proud.”
Her current work, Dead Dykes & Some Gay Men, had its initial opening at the Philadelphia Assembly Gallery, Dec. 2024–Jan. 2025. This project is a celebration of LGBTQIA+ ancestors who helped lay the foundation for queer liberation in Philadelphia. More importantly, it is her way to secure her community’s history in the fight against erasure.