Collected Item: “Openly Loving”
Your Name
Helena Thiel Ahumada
Your Pronouns
She/Her
Instagram handle, if any
helehele4444
Work Title
Openly Loving
Work Year (We are not accepting images older than 5 years)
2022
[Image Rights] Do you confirm that you hold the rights to this image?
Yes
[Eligibility] The Curve Photo Contest proudly centers and uplifts people who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer women and nonbinary people. Please share how you self-identify, using language that feels most accurate to you. Feel free to include all intersections of your identity. (Examples: lesbian, trans person of color, Latinx queer woman, radical faery, butch, etc.)
Mexican bisexual and Filipina Lesbian
[Artist Statement] Tell us more about your photo by sharing a brief artist statement OR answering this prompt: "This is what being ______ means to me..." (Max. 100 words)
This photograph captures a small, ordinary moment of affection in a public place. I've been lucky enough to fall deeply in love, and even more lucky to do so in a place where being queer isn't persecuted the way in which it is around the world. For us, sapphic love can be found in the ease of standing together, unguarded, choosing tenderness in plain sight. This image reflects the quiet confidence of building a life where love doesn’t need to hide, and where being seen feels safe.
[Visual Description] Describe your photo so we can provide alt-text. Example: "Two women holding hands and smiling as they walk in a pride parade, surrounded by rainbow flags."
Two women kiss, with the Seattle skyline in the background.
[Agreement] In the event that you win the 2026 Curve Photo Contest, do you consent to having your photograph printed for the sole purpose of displaying at The Curve Foundation's one-day event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco, CA) during Lesbian Visibility Week? The Curve Foundation will cover printing costs, but will not cover costs for mailing the print after the event ends.
Yes
[Agreement] Do you consent to The Curve Foundation storing, sharing, and using this image and its description as we deem appropriate, including disseminating on our social media, website, and Curve Archive and Curve Quarterly?
Yes
[Agreement] By checking 'I understand' below, I acknowledge that this contest upholds values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and I confirm that my submission does not contain anti-LGBTQ+ or other discriminatory, hateful, or exclusionary content.
I understand