CLEVELAND — A new artist talk series is giving visibility to LGBTQ-identifying artists in the Cleveland area.

“There's a lot of artists right now that are really impacted by the pandemic. They're not working, they're not getting paid. They're not able to show the showcase their work,” said Denise Astorino, community engagement coordinator for the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland. “And what I wanted to do was, I have a background in theater, and so I'm not doing it much right now, but I'm still involved in that community, and so what I really wanted to do was to bridge the two, the LGBT community center with the arts community.”

The Artist Talk Series launched in 2020 with three artists. The 2021 lineup has plans to bring in an artist once per month for an informal virtual hour of conversation with an audience. 

“It's a way for the artists to be seen,” Astorino said. “That's really it, to have their work seen. And just for the community to see that we have this thriving arts community, that's still in existence. Even if the pandemic has hit us as bad as it has, these artists are still out there and they're amazing people.”

First, is India Nicole Burton, who’s an actress, director, playwright, and producer.

“I'm not sure why she chose me first, but I'm really honored,” Burton said. “I'm not sure what the questions are going to be, that she asked me, but I'm excited about doing it because I am a part of the LGBTQ community, and I purposefully in my work, I want to give voices to marginalized voices, like, you know, the LGBTQ community, the black community, the community of women.”

Astorino knew exactly why she picked Burton to be first.

“Her work is really, really powerful, but so is her personality, you know,” Astorino said. “She's, I've only met her, like I said a few times, but she is a she's a force. And I knew that as soon as I started to put these together, that she was the first one that I wanted because you go in with a lion and she's amazing.”

Burton hopes her talk will inspire people to get involved in the art community.

“I hope that they come and see more art,” Burton said. “You know, if they don't see art, I'm hoping that they'll come and see art and maybe ask questions about art and how they can get involved. But also understanding that there are people out there that are trying to give, give our community, you know, the platform.”

Still, one of the largest goals of the event is reminding people that working artists are still out there trying to create, thrive, and keep the creative community alive.

“The fact is that you can still find beauty and you can still create so many of the artists nowadays, where we're creating theater on, you know, we're creating theater on Zoom and we're doing, we're adjusting, and these artists are adapting and they're adjusting and they're doing what they can with what they have,” Astorino said. “And so I want the audience to be aware that even though the state of the world is as crazy as it is right now, we're still creating beauty.”

The artists are all from Cleveland, but the talks may be viewed virtually for free anywhere. More information may be found by visiting the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland’s Facebook page.