Lola Flash

2022 AIRIE Fellow Lola Flash returned to Everglades National Park this May to continue their decades-long exploration of stereotypes preconceptions on gender and race through photography. Their ongoing series, “syzygy, the vision,” draws on Afrofuturism to reflect on the past, present, and future, while honoring personal and ancestral connections to the land. We’re honored to welcome Lola back. Watch to learn more. #AIRIE #EvergladesNationalPark #AIRIEverglades #Miami #Art #AIRIEFellows #AIRIEResidency #FloridaEverglades #Nature #Afrofuturism #Photography

Join us Sunday, May 3 from 3–5 p.m. for a conversation with acclaimed photographer and activist Lola Flash. Their work has challenged preconceptions about gender, sexuality, race, and age for nearly five decades. Flash’s art and activism have been deeply intertwined, fueling a lifelong commitment to visibility and preserving the legacy of LGBTQIA+ and POC communities worldwide. A longtime figure in New York City’s downtown art scene and an active member of ACT UP during the AIDS epidemic in New York City, Flash was notably featured in Gran Fury’s “Kissing Doesn’t Kill” poster. This now-iconic art action pierced public indifference to the AIDS crisis using the visual language of Benetton advertising. Flash’s own work has consistently challenged preconceptions around gender, sexuality, race, and age, ranging from early Cross-Color images that portray the intersections of personal life and activism in the 1980s and 1990s, to more recent work that uses portraiture to create positive representations of marginalized or overlooked individuals and communities. @fotofocuscincinnati Lola Flash (American, b. 1959), Paris Pride from the series Cross-Colour, probably 1990, dye coupler print, Museum Purchase: Carl M. Jacobs Foundation and Bruce M. Halpryn and Chas Riebe, VISU Contemporary, 2025.16, © Lola Flash Lola Flash (American, b. 1959), Self-Portrait with Balls, Bodiam Castle, UK from the series Cross-Colour, probably 1991, dye coupler print, Museum Purchase: Bruce M. Halpryn and Chas Riebe, VISU Contemporary, 2025.17, © Lola Flash Lola Flash (American, b. 1959), She Didn't Know from the series Cross-Colour, probably 1993, dye coupler print, Museum Purchase: Bruce M. Halpryn and Chas Riebe, VISU Contemporary, 2025.18, © Lola Flash Lola Flash (American, b. 1959), Deer 2 from the series Cross-Colour, probably 1993, dye coupler print, Museum Purchase: Bruce M. Halpryn and Chas Riebe, VISU Contemporary, 2025.19, © Lola Flash

Photographer and activist Lola Flash (@flashnine9 ) has deeply intertwined their art with activism for more than 40 years, fueling a lifelong commitment to visibility and preserving the legacy of LGBTQIA+ and POC communities worldwide. Flash will visit the Cincinnati Art Museum May 3 to celebrate the recent addition of their work in the museum's collection. In the following conversation with FotoFocus Artistic Director and Curator, Kevin Moore, they discuss Flash's experience in New York in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as several of Flash's projects, such as "syzygy, the vision." Flash has participated in past FotoFocus programming, including the 2022 and 2024 Biennials. Their work entitled "Amy, Hoboken, NJ" will be on view at FotoFocus Center during the inaugural exhibition, "Big Tent," opening May 29. Read the full conversation on The Lens. 📸 Lola Flash, "Syzygy I", from "syzygy, the vision," 2019. Courtesy of the artist #FotoFocusCincinnati #LensBasedArt #LolaFlash

Meet Lola Flash, the incredible New York based artist and activist with photography currently on view in San Francisco! The exhibition Believable is available to view March 14-May 22nd at Jenkins Johnson Gallery (@jenkinsjohnsongallery ) located at Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota Street, SF. The exhibition opening coincides with Women’s History Month, and in the spirit of that observance, Believable emphasizes Flash as a figure with important historical impact on photography, queer art, and activist art. The Bay Area’s tremendous history with the counterculture, political activism, and especially LGBTQ+ history further brings the exhibition new context for dialogue. Artist: @flashnine9 Interview: @curatedbyjaelynn Gallery: @jenkinsjohnsongallery Location: @minnesotastreetproject

Lola Flash, 2025 AIRIE.Foundation Fellow, will present newly commissioned work as part of FotoFest Biennial 2026: “Global Visions – FotoFest at 40” in Houston, Texas. Marking forty years of FotoFest’s international biennial, this milestone edition reflects on the evolving role of photography across geographies and generations. Flash’s new commission draws from “syzygy, the vision,” an ongoing Afrofuturist self-portrait series begun in 2019. The work extends their exploration of image-making as a space for presence, perspective, and reimagining. Presented within the citywide Houston biennial, the exhibition will be on view from March 7 to May 10, 2026. @flashnine9 @fotofest @projectrowhouses @visit_houston @airie.foundation #AIRIEFoundation #ContemporaryArt #InstallationArt

It’s here! The trailer for ‘SYZYGY’ a short film based on the Afrofuturist photography of Lola Flash, written and directed by J.Michael Hayes and Nekeshia Hayes, co-written by Z.Z. Claybourne, cinematography by Emerson Mahoney and original score by Oli Rockberger and featuring the song ‘Gravitational’ by the Illustrious Blacks. Enjoy and share!!! Stay tuned for screenings and festivals later in 2026.

A wave of synergy has swept through @projectrowhouses this week as our team and artist friends helped to install Round 60: Rooted in Perception. The brilliant minds of photographers and filmmakers have been brought together under seven historic roofs in Third Ward, Houston. You are invited to join us at the opening celebration tomorrow on March 7 from 4pm -7pm. Experience a new way of seeing. 👁️ Filmed by @visibleinlight #projectrowhouses #fotofest #PRHround60

Jenkins Johnson Gallery San Francisco is pleased to present Lola Flash: Believable, opening Saturday, March 14. We are pleased to bring the show to San Francisco, as the Bay Area’s tremendous history with the counterculture, political activism, and especially LGBTQ+ history lends the show new context and new space for discourse. Flash became involved with LGBTQ+ rights advocacy in the 1980s amid the HIV/AIDS epidemic, participating in activism with the group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power) and the associated affinity group ART+. Amid this political upheaval, Flash developed new techniques to invert the colors of their photographs, resulting in the “Cross Colour” series. Each subsequent series in their practice marks a unique aesthetic and conceptual position for Flash. Working at the forefront of genderqueer visual politics, all of Flash’s work challenges preconceptions about gender and racism, and is firmly rooted in social justice advocacy for marginalized peoples. Flash’s ongoing advocacy includes their position as the President of the Board of Queer|Art, an organization dedicated to provide individuals within the LGBTQ+ community with the tools, resources, and guidance they need to achieve success and visibility for their work at the highest levels of their fields. Founded in 2009, Queer|Art seeks to highlight and address a continuing fundamental lack of both economic and institutional support for LGBTQ+ artists, including by providing mentors and role models for a new generation of LGBTQ+ artists working today. Lola Flash: Believable opens at Jenkins Johnson Gallery San Francisco on Saturday, March 14, from 4-6pm. An artist talk will be held from 4:30-5:30pm, and book signing will begin with the start of the reception at 4pm. #lolaflash @flashnine9 #queerart @queerart #jenkinsjohnsongallery Images, all Lola Flash: 1. N is for Native American, Provincetown, Mass (Cross Colour Series and Gay to Z Series), 1993. 2. Carrie Mae Weems ([sur]passing Series), 2008 3. Divinity, Brighton, UK (syzygy, the vision Series), 2020 4. Emolsa (unsung fire island Series), 2021 5. Mzz Kimberly, London (surmise Series), 2011

“We may not be able to stop evil in the world, but how we treat one another is entirely up to us.” #Barack Obama #mypresident 🖤

Tomorrow’s the last day of my show @jenkinsjohnsongallery This was our first show, done in collaboration with @mariangoodmangallery 🖤 I want to thank everyone who stopped by—sorry I couldn’t post all your lovely faces, but your presence meant the world to me❣️ My work concerns anyone who’s ever felt the need to break free from societal norms and push forward. Huge thanks to @kjenkinsjohnson and her incredible team for believing in my vision! And to the ancestors who paved the way—ain’t no stopping me now! Can I get a witness? 🙏🏽 1. Moi at my show BELIEVABLE 2. Me and Dr Combs, who was in discussion with me on opening night 3. So thankful to these amazing guys, they've been in my corner for years! (please go to HOWL gallery if you want this shirt) 4. Karen + Jamel 😍 5. My dear crew...they love me 😢 - sorry y'all too many to tag 😂 6. Talkin' about the OG! Love this star 💯 7. My dear Kia and her perfect partner, Taina Larot 🥰 8. These both talented and supportive friends! 🌷🌷🌷

- - ‘Stay Afloat, Use a Rubber’, Lola Flash, cross colour photograph, 1993. Flash’s work first came to prominence in the late 1980s as a document of the advocacy work of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, known as ACT UP. An active member, Flash captured demonstrations that took place in New York, Washington DC and London, and marched in solidarity alongside their peers. Flash developed a signature ‘cross-colour’ style during this time, a process which involves developing film in the ‘wrong’ solution. By adopting this abstracted, artistic approach, Flash is able to conceal the identities and genders of the sitters, using the ambiguous results of the colour inversion process to subvert perceptions of gender norms, race and representation. Today is World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. @flashnine9 #worldaidsday2025 #worldaidsday @actupny

Artist @flashnine9 shares why they are taking part in Fall of Freedom, reflecting on the power of art to spark collective action. Their exhibition “Believable” is currently on view at @jenkinsjohnsongallery on the third floor of @mariangoodmangallery , offering a poignant reminder of the importance of visibility, truth-telling, and challenging entrenched perceptions of gender and race. #FallOfFreedom