Collected Item: “God Bless America”
Your Name
Kristen Murakoshi
Your Pronouns
she/her
Instagram handle, if any
@kristenmurakoshi
Work Title
God Bless America
Work Year (We are not accepting images older than 5 years)
2025
[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.)
queer multiracial femme
[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)
God Bless America, portrait of epli, 2025
Documenting our queer bodies is a witnessing of the sacredness of our stories + existence and a push against dominant narratives; a practice of joy and resistance.
Documenting our queer bodies is a witnessing of the sacredness of our stories + existence and a push against dominant narratives; a practice of joy and resistance.
[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."
Androgynous mixed race dyke wearing a neutral colored fedora and brown cowboy boots; her legs and upper body are bare. She is holding a vintage framed needlepoint in front of her, covering her midsection and upper legs. It reads "God Bless America" in blue stitch, with brownish pink designs of wheat and roses. Her top surgery scars are visible, as well as a tattoo of a line below her clavicle, from shoulder to shoulder, and an open circle tattoo on her right shin.
[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