Butch Heroes:
An Artist Talk by Ria Brodell
Ria Brodell’s Butch Heroes books recover and celebrate queer subjects obscured or misrepresented within the dominant narratives of history. Join us for a presentation focused on Brodell's 2025 publication, More Butch Heroes, which presents 15 original paintings and biographies in the style of the first volume, as slyly subverted Catholic holy cards featuring individuals who were assigned female at birth, but who presented as masculine. Brodell will discuss their work researching and creating art of these queer individuals in their everyday lives, relaxing or working, and enduring their struggles.
Light refreshments served following the artist talk in Collins Cafe.
Join Ria Brodell, a queer and trans artist, educator, and author based in Boston, to learn how their work explores gender, sexuality, and identity within the context of history, contemporary society, science, and religion. Brodell attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and received a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and an MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts University. Brodell has exhibited throughout the United States and internationally. They are a recipient of an Artadia Award, a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship, a SMFA Traveling Fellowship, and a Lambda Literary Award Finalist. Their work has appeared in New York Magazine, the Guardian, ARTNews, ArtReview, the Boston Globe, and New American Paintings, among other publications. Brodell’s books, Butch Heroes and More Butch Heroes, were published in 2018 and 2025 by MIT Press.
Limited edition reproduction prints of select Butch Heroes are available for sale at the Davis Museum Shop.
This program is generously supported by the Elizabeth Bein Keto '48 Endowed Memorial Art Fund in collaboration with LGBTQ+ Programs and Services.
Free and open to all.
Seating in Collins Cinema is limited, and on a first come, first served basis. Comment end