About TBQA Collectivo

The Bureau of Queer Art operates as a collaborative ecosystem sustained by artists, curators, writers, and cultural participants who contribute to the ongoing life of the project. TBQA Collectivo formalizes this community as a membership structure that supports exhibitions, publications, residencies, and collaborative programming throughout the year.

Artists who join the Collectivo receive reduced exhibition participation fees, no application fees for open calls, and access to opportunities across TBQA’s programs, including publications, podcast features, and collaborative projects.

Participation in TBQA exhibitions and programs does not require Collectivo membership; however, many artists choose to join as a way of remaining connected to the broader community and supporting the continued development of the platform.

More information about TBQA Collectivo and membership options can be found here: https://www.thebureauofqueerart.com/what-is-collectivo

VISIBLE / INVISIBLE
What we show. What we protect.
Fotografia 2026
TBQA – The Bureau of Queer Art
August 6 – September 17, 2026
Mexico City

Curatorial Statement

Queer life has always unfolded in layers — what we reveal, what we conceal, what we stage, and what we guard. VISIBLE / INVISIBLE gathers photographers who explore the shifting boundary between exposure and protection.

In a world saturated with images and performance, visibility is no longer simple. To be seen can be power. To remain unseen can be survival. These works move through portraiture, documentation, self-construction, abstraction, and intimacy to question who controls the frame — and who benefits from what is made visible.

Some artists lean into radiance and presence. Others examine privacy, coded language, erasure, and the quiet architectures of safety. Together, they reveal photography as both mirror and shield — a way to assert identity while negotiating vulnerability.

VISIBLE / INVISIBLE centers agency: choosing when to step into the light, and when to hold something sacred.

Jurors

abdiel j. lópez (b. 1996, Los Angeles) is a queer cultural curator based between Los Angeles and Mexico City. abdiel found their identity through music and has since carried that grounding in the arts into their work as a curator committed to centering emerging queer & brown visual cultures.

abdiel's curatorial practice began with En Voyage: Hybridity & Vodou in Haitian Art (Grinnell College, 2018). After studying art history at Grinnell College, abdiel went on to work as a Getty Intern at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, CA, and then as a Gallery Manager at Galería Estéreo's former Mexico City location. Since 2019, abdiel has been the founder of Cuarto Arrullo, an experimental, site-specific project space for emerging queer & brown visual artists.

abdiel has supported the arts professionally as a program officer at the Center for Cultural Innovation and as a review panelist at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the City of West Hollywood's former One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Grant.

abdiel is of Chatino descent and uses any/all pronouns.

Micheal Swank (b. 1970, Indianapolis, Indiana). is an artist, curator, and founder of The Bureau of Queer Art (TBQA), supporting Queer and allied contemporary artists through exhibitions, residencies, and publishing initiatives. His studio practice—rooted in collage, reconstruction, and resilience—has been exhibited in the United States, Mexico, and internationally, exploring identity, memory, and transformation.

A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BFA, 1998) and Pepperdine University (MA, 2006), Micheal previously served as Dean of Academics for the Art Institute system before shifting his focus in 2012 toward international creative exchange and studio practice, lecturing in Mexico, China, and the U.S.

After relocating to Mexico City in 2018, he established @TheQueerAlchemist and founded TBQA (formerly Proyectos de Residencia MX), building a global platform for Queer artists. Since 2019, he has curated over 300 exhibitions and online programs, launched a bilingual magazine and podcast, and partnered with institutions across North America to expand visibility for LGBTQIA+ artists.

Today, Micheal continues his own studio work while guiding artists through transformative residencies, curatorial collaborations, and publishing projects that challenge exclusionary narratives and amplify Queer voices in contemporary art.

2 more Jurors to be announced.