Unsung Fire Island Exhibition Spotlights Queer Diversity

New San Francisco show traces four decades of photographer Lola Flash's work highlighting Black and brown LGBTQ residents and visitors.

Apr. 15, 2026 at 8:27am

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An abstract composition of bold, geometric shapes in deep indigo, magenta, and goldenrod, conceptually representing the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality explored in the 'Unsung Fire Island' exhibition.An abstract visual metaphor for the diversity and activism highlighted in the 'Unsung Fire Island' photography exhibition.Bayport Today

A new exhibition in San Francisco titled 'Unsung Fire Island' surveys four decades of work by New York photographer Lola Flash, including images that spotlight Black and brown residents and visitors in Fire Island's queer community. The show uses portraits, color inversion, and an Afrofuturist alter ego to probe racism, identity, and activism across LGBTQ and diasporic spaces.

Why it matters

The exhibition aims to reframe who gets seen and represented in queer spaces, which have historically marginalized people of color. By highlighting the diversity of Fire Island's LGBTQ community, the show challenges dominant narratives and brings visibility to underrepresented voices.

The details

The 'Unsung Fire Island' exhibition at a San Francisco gallery features four decades of work by photographer Lola Flash. The images use portraiture, color inversion, and an Afrofuturist aesthetic to explore themes of racism, identity, and activism within LGBTQ communities and the African diaspora. Many of the photographs spotlight Black and brown residents and visitors to Fire Island, a historically white-dominated queer space.

  • The exhibition opened on April 15, 2026.

The players

Lola Flash

A New York-based photographer whose work over the past four decades has focused on issues of race, gender, and sexuality within LGBTQ and diasporic communities.

San Francisco Chronicle

The local newspaper that reported on the 'Unsung Fire Island' exhibition.

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The takeaway

The 'Unsung Fire Island' exhibition challenges dominant narratives about who gets seen and represented in queer spaces, bringing much-needed visibility to the diverse LGBTQ community on Fire Island and beyond.