Collected Item: “Rainbow City”
Your Name
Matty Lynn Barnes
Your Pronouns
She/Her/Hers
Instagram handle, if any
@mattylynnbarnes
Work Title
Rainbow City
Work Year (We are not accepting images older than 5 years)
2023
[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.)
Dyke
[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)
Together in the streets - in protest, in celebration, in sisterhood (so to speak) - this is what being lesbian/queer means to me. Here we see two queer individuals proudly raising their hands, one spreading joy through a unicorn bubblemaker, the other seemingly propelling the bubbles over the crowd with their rainbow hand fan in motion. Standing tall, as if among the skyline of the city itself, they are a symbol of the inextricable link between queerness and urban life. Together we live, love, and persist in a world that often seeks to quiet and hide us away.
[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 people celebrating during Dyke March in New York City. One holding a pink unicorn bubble maker up high and the other waving a rainbow hand fan.
[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