Welcome to the premier issue of The Bureau of Queer Art.

When this project emerged from my own studio 5 years ago, it was my scream to the art world. I was screaming about the mistreatment of galleries to the artists, the disconnection of collectors to the stories behind the work, and a desire to bring our queer and allied community out of the shadows. Here we are 5 years later surrounded by an international community of studio artists with a long list of exhibitions, art fairs, and events.

What I want for our magazine audience is to allow each artist to be seen and heard through their own words and images. This magazine is a guidebook to a library of interviews, video documentation, and a book of temptations meant to draw you into our world. (insert “Life is a Cabaret” song here)

Some of you will challenge us on the notion of Queer being inclusive to the straight community. Trust me, I hear you. However, I also know how exclusionary the series of letters LGBTQ+.... and how hard it can be to see what is presented in the mainstream as not reflecting who I am. Automatically, adding Queer to any marketing materials creates a barrier to exposure. It also makes you say this is not for me. I imagine when you saw the cover of the magazine (image by Lechedevirgin) you may have gasped. This magazine is for you too. I challenge you to go deeper. I ask you, who are you in the queer spectrum? How do you express your queerness? What parts of yourself make you want to run into the streets and scream “I am here!”? Imagine if no one hears you, or worse, throws their negativity back at you just because you are being authentically you. Welcome to the Queer experience.

Purchasing this magazine with all the companion materials is a way of supporting this venture. I hope you will find yourself in this magazine and it inspires you to create, connect, and maybe even purchase art from one of our artists, or one in your local area.

Special thanks to all our supporters, but in particular Xuan Rios who contributes by coming to every show and interviewing the artists, creating walk through videos, and providing his talents all around. @xuanrios on IG.

With love, Micheal Swank