Collected Item: “Her Coat”
Your Name
Cindy Shebley
Your Pronouns
She Her
Instagram handle, if any
Lesbian Grief Photography Project and cindyshebley
Work Title
Her Coat
Work Year (We are not accepting images older than 5 years)
2026
[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.)
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)
If asked, before the Cancer diagnosis, what the first thing of hers I would let go of, it would be her ratty old coat.
I HATED that thing!
Every year I'd try and bury it deeper into hiding. We'd buy new coats for the season. I'd sigh in relief that she wouldn't be wearing that thing another year, only to have her dig it out of my hiding spot and wear it for the season.
I think the coat was like a warm security blanket for her. Of course, the smaller she got from the effects of Cancer, Surgeries, Chemo and Radiation the more she swam in the jacket - and the worse it looked on her.
Now that she's gone - it's funny - I can't seem to part with the coat. It still hangs on her side of the closet waiting for the day I'm ready to let one more thing of hers go.
I HATED that thing!
Every year I'd try and bury it deeper into hiding. We'd buy new coats for the season. I'd sigh in relief that she wouldn't be wearing that thing another year, only to have her dig it out of my hiding spot and wear it for the season.
I think the coat was like a warm security blanket for her. Of course, the smaller she got from the effects of Cancer, Surgeries, Chemo and Radiation the more she swam in the jacket - and the worse it looked on her.
Now that she's gone - it's funny - I can't seem to part with the coat. It still hangs on her side of the closet waiting for the day I'm ready to let one more thing of hers go.
[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."
A woman holding her lovers coat and taking in her familiar scent
[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