When Mare Hiles lived in North Carolina, they discovered queer art club: a group dedicated to building community through art. When they moved back to Atlanta, they knew they wanted to bring the concept back with them and start a chapter of their own. Thus, Atlanta Queer Art Club was born.
“It’s way more casual than the name suggests,” Hiles told Georgia Voice. “It’s a really, really low-key, chill space that we have. I was really missing a lot of community, and so I wanted to be able to bring that kind of community that I found in North Carolina, queer art club into Atlanta.”
On certain Saturdays from 1 to 4pm, the group meets in Piedmont Park to bond over arts and crafts. Attendees either bring their own activities, which have ranged from coloring and sketching to sewing and molding clay, or use some of the art materials provided by the club. All are welcome, regardless of artistic ability. The club isn’t about being the best artist or creating a masterpiece; it’s about meeting people and making friends.
“I feel like the art is more of a background to the community,” Hiles said. “For me, as someone who can definitely get social anxiety sometimes, it’s nice to have a little thing to do with my hands while I’m getting to know people.”
This is not only reflective of Hiles’ personal experience; according to the study, “The Effectiveness of Art Therapy for Anxiety in Adult Women,” art therapy — the use of visual arts like painting, drawing, and sculpting as experience-oriented therapy — can be “effective in reducing anxiety symptoms [and] improving quality of life and aspects of emotional regulation.”
While the group is open to everyone, the attendees skew toward young adulthood — a group that may struggle to feel connected to its community more than its older counterparts. A 2020 report found that 79 percent of Gen Z participants and 71 percent of Millennials considered themselves lonely, compared to 50 percent of Baby Boomers. This could be due to lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or increased dependence on technology and social media.
Whatever the case may be, it’s clear the club meets a need in the young queer community, as it has been accepted with open arms. The group is brand new — the first meeting was held on June 16 — but it has already received a ton of support from the community. Within three days of announcing the group on Instagram, it has garnered 100 followers; after only two meetings, there are now over 300 followers on social media. The attendance has been on the smaller side so far, but even with the current turnout, the group has offered attendees the opportunity to expand both their social circles and their knowledge about all that Atlanta’s LGBTQ community has to offer.
“The queer folks that I have met have such a strong connection and such a strong desire to create, and I honestly think it’s really beautiful,” Hiles said. “There’s such a new and unique perspective that people bring [to the meetings]. One of the people who came to the last meeting was talking about how they were ‘queering’ collage. I was like, ‘I’ve never heard that before, that’s so awesome! Please tell me more about that!’ We’re not just doing art, we’re also learning about facets of our own community that maybe we didn’t even know about.”
Atlanta Queer Art Club’s third meeting will be held on August 11 from 1 to 4pm in Piedmont Park. If you are unable to attend but want to support the group, you can follow on Instagram @atlqueerartclub and share posts, donate art supplies and/or water, or donate to their forthcoming snack fund.