The Inter-Cultural Center opened their doors for Earth Day as Highline students filled the room with color to express their creativity through canvas painting. The Q-Center provided all artists with canvases, brushes, and vibrant colors to their heart’s content, along with full creative liberty.

“This is an event about identity and how our identity shapes the future,” said M.B., a professor in Geology & Environmental Science at Highline, aiming to highlight the importance of how climate change affects marginalized groups.

Hosting their second arts event, the Q-Center wanted to ensure that we also celebrate not only our environment but ourselves in the process.

Thunderbirds did this in a variety of ways. Some, like Emily Lee, depicted a field overlooking a bright sky, while others like Ellysha dedicated the time to express parts of their identity like a cross.

“It doesn’t just have to be doom and gloom,” they explained regarding the difficulty behind these harrowing discussions on today’s world, and the significance behind performing healing activities like painting. “We can also then channel those feelings into something positive.”

If you missed the event, no need to worry, as it is far from over. Donated paintings from the celebration will be featured at a showcase hosted again by the Q-Center.

“We’re just excited to have students be able to engage and investigate their own identity in relation to Earth Day and nature,” stated Chino, a member of the Highline LGBTQIA+ Task Force. The group is eager to celebrate the development of these communities at Highline since the last showcase in 2019.

“There was no Q&A Club, there was no physical Q-Center,” Chino elaborated on the evolving state of LGBTQIA+ spaces since the last Queer Visions event. “As someone who’s an alumni and also queer, I really wished for a community like this and it feels so good.”

You can celebrate this milestone with the Q-Center at their second Queer Visions performance, scheduled for June 4, or look out for other events on the way through their Instagram page, @qcentergroup.