Recently, when I heard about the director of the Mt. Airy Art Garage, Arleen Olshan, being forced out of her position and her artwork being censored by board members who said her work was not fit for “Family Values,” I had occasion to view images of her work which was censored. Looking at the images took me back. Before Arleen and her partner founded the Mt. Airy Art Garage fourteen years ago, Arleen was one of the co-founders of the pioneering lesbian, feminist and gay bookstore Giovanni’s Room (which is still on Pine Street in Center City Philadelphia, but under different ownership). I spent much time in Giovanni’s Room as a budding young writer. For many years, Arleen’s paintings hung upstairs in a room where people could sit among the books and her paintings and soak in the lesbian culture. That culture was rare in those days (even rarer than it is today) and the store was a place where you could feel at home.
Arleen’s work that was censored, contains images of lesbians who are nude. She portrays images of women that are natural and seen through a lesbian eye. There is plenty of nudity in art museums, much of it violent towards women.
Also, as my partner said when we first heard about the situation, kids see their parents naked, and no one thinks that’s harmful.
Last week when my partner and I drove past the Mt. Airy Art Garage on Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia, we noticed that there is no longer a Pride flag flying outside. Mt. Airy is a section of the City known for its diversity. What happened to Arleen makes me angry, but it also makes me sad.
To learn more about the situation, click on the following link for the article in the Philadelphia Gay News:
Lesbian files anti-bias complaint against Mt. Airy arts center – Philadelphia Gay News (epgn.com)
For more information on my most recent published novel Loving Artemis, an endearing tale of revolution, love, and marriage, click here:
Janet Mason, author 