Upstairs Artspace to host art talk with textile, collage artists

Works focus on LGBTQ safety, equality

Upstairs Artspace invites the public to attend an art talk on Sunday, May 3 at 2 pm featuring two artists with artwork currently on display.

Erika Diamond and Liz Williams will speak on their work which centers safety and equality for the LGBTQ community in shows titled Fight or Flight and Birds of a Feather, respectively. The event is free and open to the public at the contemporary art gallery located at 49 S. Trade St., Tryon.

Erika Diamond is a textile-focused artist, curator, and educator based in Asheville, N.C. Her work is influenced by dance, costume, materiality, and the politics of queer safety and visibility. She received a BFA in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Fiber from Virginia Commonwealth University. Diamond has exhibited nationally and abroad, and her costumes have been commissioned by Charlotte Ballet. Her website is ErikaDiamond.com.

Her solo exhibition Fight or Flight at Upstairs Artspace features vests, quilts, blankets and capes all made of Kevlar, a material stronger than steel, making it ideal for bulletproof vests, helmets, protective clothing, etc., with the intention to absorb high-impact energy. She was inspired to produce these pieces in the wake of the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting.

( Erika Diamond with Capes: Titled Blue Bird Cape and Anna's Hummingbird Cape)

“They are specifically tailored and designed to protect and uplift members of my own queer community, reflecting their individual ideas around personal safety and style,” says Diamond, about her series Imminent Peril – Queer Collection.  More on her artwork is online at ErikaDiamond.com.

Liz Williams is one of eight artists whose work is featured in the Birds of a Feather exhibition and includes two pieces of digital collage.

( Liz Williams, Where We Come Together, Digitial Collage, 16in x 20in, 2025)

Based in Asheville, Williams’ work explores the line between the real and fantastic elements of life in the South in a variety of media including photography and illustration.

Her work ranges from t-shirt designs calling for the dismantling of anti-LGBTQ legislation for Equality NC, to portraits of nationally acclaimed musicians, to animations of family cats. She is the program manager for the Campaign for Southern Equality’s Southern Equality Studios, a project that explores how the arts can be a catalyst and force in achieving lived and legal LGBTQ equality across the South.

Liz’s work has been exhibited at the Asheville Art Museum, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Atlanta Contemporary, and the African American Atelier. Their contributions to art and activism have been recognized by the Tzedek Impact Award, the Center for Craft’s Craft Futures Fund, and Click! Photography Festival. More on her art can be found at makemesomeart.com.

Both Fight or Flight and Birds of a Feather are on display through May 29. The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, 12 – 5 pm. For more information, visit UpstairsArtspace.org.