Within & Between: An Exhibition for Pride
Serena Chagas, Jo Gomes, Rory Hope Gouthro, Kevin McBean, Parker McIntyre, Molly Steels, Rojhin Taebi, Natalie Rhys Turpin
May 7 – August 2, 2026
Great Hall Gallery
Aurora Town Square – 50 Victoria Street, Aurora
Within & Between: An Exhibition for Pride brings together 2SLGBTQIA+ artists connected to York Region to reflect on their varied interpretations of Pride. Working across media, the artworks range in subject from a collage commemorating the history of Stonewall to introspective self-portraits visualizing gender dysphoria, alongside playful pop culture references. What emerges is a composite of Pride, cataloguing the breadth and diversity of queer identity experienced within and between the letters 2SLGBTQIA+.
This exhibition is on view in Great Hall Gallery (Level 2) from May 7 – August 2, 2026, and opens Thursday May 7 from 6:30-8:30pm in our Spring Halls Soireé. Refreshments provided, and remarks to commence at 7pm. All are welcome.
Within & Between: An Exhibition for Pride (installation view), Aurora Cultural Centre, 2026
Scheduled Programming
Spring Halls Soirée | Thursday May 7, from 6:30 – 8:30pm: All are welcome to celebrate the opening of our spring hallway exhibitions. Light refreshments provided with remarks at 7pm.
Crit Club (Ages 18+) | Saturday, May 23, 9:00 – 11:00am: Crit Club offers a free space for artists to gather and engage in thoughtful dialogue surrounding their own and each other’s work.
Spring Artist-Poet Gathering | Saturday, May 23, 11:00am – 1:00pm: A quarterly meetup for artists and poets to create spontaneous written and visual responses to the artworks on display within our current exhibitions.
About the Artists
Serena Chagas (@Serenimusprime)
Serena Chagas (b. 2010) has been a digital artist for over a decade. She uses art as an outlet to express her passions and interests, mixing two passions into one practice. She finds herself strongly inspired by The Transformers and its characters, artwork, and stories. Each of her pieces serve as an exploration of her evolving art practice, a continuous process of experimentation and transformation.
Jo Gomes (@JoSeesArt)
Jo Gomes is a photographer and the artist behind JoSeesArt, capturing the world in its raw, vibrant, mundane, and magical form. Part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, Jo photographs instinctively, finding art in overlooked moments and capturing dialogue between the everyday and the extraordinary.
Rory Hope Gouthro
Rory Hope Gouthro is a developing multimedia artist that utilizes a limited, monochromatic palette in their art, drawing inspiration from the diverse people surrounding them. For Rory, art has helped them overcome challenges in life, reflected in the themes and topics found in their art.
Kevin McBean
Kevin McBean is a mixed media and photography artist living in Aurora. Kevin’s debut for mixed media pieces took place in 2019 at 50 Years of Pride: LGBT Art Exhibit, Arts of the Pamlico, Washington, North Carolina.
Parker McIntyre (@parker_and_recreation)
Parker McIntyre is a 23-year-old Newmarket-based artist, he transitioned (FTM) at age 18. McIntyre’s art is focused on gender identity and sexuality, exploring the beauty and freedom of transitioning, and the discomfort and oftentimes gross feelings.
Molly Steels (@molly_steels_photography)
Molly Steels is a Toronto-based artist and arts administrator originally from Bradford, Ontario. By world-building in tandem with family archives, Steels blends the past into the present. Here she creates surreal conceptual spaces using photography as a tool for connection across time.
Rojhin Taebi (@byrouj_)
Rojhin Taebi, is a second-generation settler from Richmond Hill, ON. She is an avid writer, painter, amateur chef, and guitarist. Taebi is the organizer of Mother Tongued Toronto (2022-24), a poetry and art night fundraising event that centers on BIPOC and Pan-Asian languages, voices, and storytelling.
Natalie Rhys Turpin
Natalie Rhys Turpin is a digital artist for character design. During high school, she created many physical pieces of artwork she is proud of.