On Nov. 4, Stefan held an open lecture called “It Gets Better? An Exploration of Queer and Trans Resilience through the Arts & Culture Outcome of Chicago’s 2SLGBTQIA+ Museums and Archives.” They shared both the attending students’ and their own personal experiences from the research trip to Chicago in February 2025. Stefan shared with The Cascade how the trip was made possible with the help of UFV’s Research Office and the Inclusive Community Fund, what inspired their project planning, and the impactful outcome of the research trip.
Stefan recalled dreaming of the opportunity to take UFV students with them to Chicago, their hometown. They described it as a city that is known for standing up for social rights, which has hosted some of the earliest queer pride parades, and is the location of the Gerber/Hart Library and Archives which archives and preserves books and media highlighting the history and culture of the Queer community.
Stefan’s lecture explored topics of 2SLGBTQIA+ resilience, and they shared part of their background and artistic career as a member and activist of the Queer community. Stefan talked about how the ItGetsBetter project embodied the resilience needed to keep going, not giving up on life, and finding community.
“We learned new ways to have resilience to be able to keep doing our life [and] not giving it up.”
Stefan’s intention in introducing UFV students to the records at Gerber/Hart’s archives was to encourage them to hunt for hidden gems that resonate with them on a personal level. As a creative researcher and artist, Stefan mentioned how they wanted the students involved to be able to explore their own way of discovering the records at the archive, and to dissect the different components of what each piece represented. For example, if it was part of a larger event, what year it was from, where they found it, if it had an ID number, its historical importance, and the personal impact it made.
“Don’t worry about what you’re drawn to, but find an object. And if you like it just think about what it’s giving for you, what is it reverberating, and then talk about that a little bit.”
Stefan also reflected that on their final day of research they attended a LGBTQ+ intergenerational dialogue project led by cultural anthropology professor, Karen Morris, from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which was held at the Center on Halsted. The institution has been known for supporting LGBTQ+ health, wellness, and cultural enrichment since 1973.
There was a space for members of the community from different generations to share their experiences, which they remarked as one of the trip’s most important highlights. Stefan and the UFV students who attended the dialogue project heard and shared stories with Queer elders, creating and sustaining a sense of community.
“The intergenerational components of this little event that we did is probably one of the biggest outcomes.”
Stefan presented the artistic and reflective work done by the students after the trip, and also read a list of an initial culling of themes explored during the research trip. Stefan explained that they want to avoid rushing to any hasty conclusions concerning if it does get better for trans and queer people, and chose to share what resilience looks like for the Queer community, and how it benefits their survival. Stefan stated that they will continue to go through the list of themes they culled and continue to refine it to find the answers they seek out of the project.
“I have a big job ahead of me to [sift] through all of that to a smaller family of themes. So I’m hoping to continue this work while I’m here at UFV.”
