Laurie Monahan

Laurie Monahan, from Rochester, New York, is a lesbian Deaf visual artist who works primarily in acrylic and mixed media, with some interest in digital media. As an out lesbian for over 25 years, Monahan has witnessed both the good and bad sides of being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and expresses those views through her work. Some of her paintings depict topics like murders of transgender individuals and cyberbullying.

For the past eight years, Monahan has been involved with De’VIA (Deaf View/Images Art) and SU (Surdists United) as an artivist. In 2016, she created a Facebook group called “Queer De’VIA” as a space for Deaf and Queer artists to share their work and express their experiences as deaf and queer people.

In 2019, Monahan exhibited locally at Gallery Q, including her newest works “Bold Deaf Lesbian” and “Proud Deaf Gay,” each of which shows the ASL signs for “lesbian” and “gay.” Her goal is to create two more related works for “queer” and “trans.”