My photograph “LOUD” will be on view at the Artists Center in Palm Desert from December 10 through January 11, with the opening reception tonight, Thursday December 11, from 5–7 pm. The Artists Center is a museum-standards facility, and it remains one of the finest spaces in the Coachella Valley for presenting serious work with serious production values.
“LOUD” comes from the Palm Springs Gay Pride Parade in 2003. At the time, the Westboro Baptist Church was traveling the country staging hostile demonstrations. Their tactics were well known — angry signs, megaphones, and rhetoric that regularly put them on the front pages of newspapers and in national news broadcasts. Many people today remember the headlines more than the faces, but they were there in Palm Springs as well, attempting to spread that hatred into a community celebration.
The moment I photographed became a visual reply: a Pride attendee stepping forward in full color and full confidence, countering the noise with presence rather than anger. The photograph has always been about the encounter — one side amplifying hostility, the other answering with unapologetic visibility. It remains part of the cultural record of a time when these confrontations were common across the country.
The exhibit is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm, at:
Artists Center 72-567 Highway 111 Palm Desert, California 92260
You’re invited to stop in, see the work, and explore the new season celebrating five years of the Artists Council at the Artists Center.
SecondFocus Blog 
“LOUD” at the Artists Center – Reception Tonight
My photograph “LOUD” will be on view at the Artists Center in Palm Desert from December 10 through January 11, with the opening reception tonight, Thursday December 11, from 5–7 pm. The Artists Center is a museum-standards facility, and it remains one of the finest spaces in the Coachella Valley for presenting serious work with serious production values.
“LOUD” comes from the Palm Springs Gay Pride Parade in 2003. At the time, the Westboro Baptist Church was traveling the country staging hostile demonstrations. Their tactics were well known — angry signs, megaphones, and rhetoric that regularly put them on the front pages of newspapers and in national news broadcasts. Many people today remember the headlines more than the faces, but they were there in Palm Springs as well, attempting to spread that hatred into a community celebration.
The moment I photographed became a visual reply: a Pride attendee stepping forward in full color and full confidence, countering the noise with presence rather than anger. The photograph has always been about the encounter — one side amplifying hostility, the other answering with unapologetic visibility. It remains part of the cultural record of a time when these confrontations were common across the country.
The exhibit is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm, at:
Artists Center
72-567 Highway 111
Palm Desert, California 92260
You’re invited to stop in, see the work, and explore the new season celebrating five years of the Artists Council at the Artists Center.
December 11, 2025 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: activist history images, American protest movements visual record, anti-LGBTQ protest documentation, art and social history, Artists Center Palm Desert exhibit, Artists Council exhibition, California museum exhibitions, Coachella Valley art scene, contemporary documentary photography, cultural confrontation photography, desert cities art exhibitions, fine art archival photography, historical protest photography, Ian L Sitren photography, LGBTQ documentary photography, LGBTQ rights movement history, LGBTQ visibility in art, LOUD photograph, museum standards photography exhibition, Palm Desert art gallery, Palm Desert cultural arts, Palm Springs community history, Palm Springs Gay Pride Parade 2003, Palm Springs Pride history, Pride parade street photography, queer history visual archive, secondfocus, social commentary photography, Southern California photography exhibit, Westboro Baptist Church protest history | Leave a comment