Finding Our Happy

In a world that for too long has solely centered cisgender heteronormativity, LGBTQ+ people have had to go to extra lengths to discover stories, histories, objects, people, and spaces that can reflect and celebrate our truths. From the entertainment that permeates mass culture to, more often than not, the families we grow up in, queer, trans, and gender nonconforming individuals have had to work to discover the people, spaces, and things that offer us confidence, affirmation, and joy. Finding Our Happy celebrates those mundane and monumental discoveries. The project invites viewers to look closely and see how many references they could find/relate to.

Finding Our Happy is designed and created by three Philly-based LGBTQ+ artists: Nilé Livingston, Nicole Nikolich, and Marisa Velázquez-Rivas, along with writer and curator Conrad Benner. The mural takes inspiration from our own experiences as well as the experiences of a number of LGBTQ+ Philadelphians who responded to our open call for ideas. Finding Our Happy is supported by Mural Arts Philadelphia, and has been installed on Philly’s historic LGBTQ+ Feminist Bookstore, Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni’s Room, which is a bookstore many of us have long used as a resource for LGBTQ+ joy and community. This temporary project was up for one year after it was installed in October 2021.

Location Note: Murals no longer on view at this location (temporary project – up for one year).