Opening receptions: August 7th • September 4th • October 2nd

5-8 PM • 16th & Zamia • Boulder

Woven Evidence reimagines the visual language of American scouting badges as a record of queer survival. More than fifty hand-tufted, 24-inch “merit badges” reference the familiar emblems traditionally sewn onto scouting sashes—symbols meant to mark achievement, belonging, and moral character. In this exhibition, however, some badges hold language historically used against LGBTQ+ people. Slurs gradually give way to terms that have been reclaimed, redefined, or celebrated within the LGBTQ+ community.

Through this shift, the work traces how language can wound, but also how communities reshape it into symbols of resilience and pride. The badges become both evidence and armor—markers of endurance that acknowledge harm while asserting self-definition.

Convex mirrors placed among the badges reflect viewers back into the installation, implicating us all in the circulation and transformation of language. A video and sound element features the artist and interns reading the list of words; slurs dissolve into blurred, muffled fragments before giving way to clear, intelligible affirmations. The distortion echoes the act of refusing harmful language while amplifying the words that sustain community.

The exhibition’s creation is also collaborative. A group of returning youth interns­—Arcus, Copeland, Graham, Demi, Celeste, and Felix, worked as studio assistants helping to produce the badges and bring the installation to life. Their participation foregrounds mentorship, intergenerational learning, and the ongoing work of building safer futures for queer youth.

Together, these woven emblems function as both archive and transformation—documenting the language that has shaped LGBTQ+ experience while reclaiming space for dignity, visibility, and collective strength.