2026 Santa Monica Pride Month Proclamation
May 26, 2026 3:31 PM
by City of Santa Monica
Sanctuary
by rafa esparza | May 26, 2026
Whereas, Queer spaces are built for inclusion. They are built because we have been refused safe spaces to exist in as our full selves. Throughout history we have carved out our spaces with our presence:
In beaches, In public restrooms, In bushes, In cars, In bathhouses, In bars, In night clubs, In balls, In sex clubs, In dungeons, In beaches, In classrooms, In marriage, In cruising, In queer apps, In tea parties, In house parties, In organizing, In nightlife, In chosen family, In marriage, In struggle, In healthcare, In wellness, In courtrooms, In legislature, In care, In homes, In love, In jobs, In opportunity, In citizenship, In land, In community, In film, In art, In fashion, In business, In commerce, In music, In universities, In literature, In state documents, In national documents, In migration, In survival, In humanity,
Our presence has grown throughout history, from establishing the most coveted clandestine corners of the world to holding seats in public offices of government. Sanctuary was never handed us; we built it. We fought for it. We sustained it. We modeled it. We fight for more of it wherever we feel unsafe. We defend it. We preserve it.
Sanctuary is a luxury when other people are unsafe, are targeted, kidnapped, disappeared, and incarcerated, based purely on who they are. Let us ask our city to do the work, but also continue to do the work we have always done for ourselves. Let us help and join with each other to be the cover for communities, the shelter that we at times never had from the world around us when we needed it. Let us build sanctuary for each other.
About the artist
rafa esparza is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Los Angeles. He has performed in a variety of spaces including Santa Monica’s Highways Performance Space, the Los Angeles River, AIDS Project Los Angeles, REDCAT, and the Getty Center, and his works have been shown at the Hammer’s Made in LA biennial, Art Basel, MASS MoCA, and the Whitney Biennial, among other venues. esparza is inspired by his relationship to queerness, and colonization and the disrupted histories and kinships that it produces. Using live performance as a form of inquiry, he employs physically demanding tasks or ritualistic actions, site-specificity, fashion, material culture, and what he calls (non)documentation, as primary tools to investigate and expose ideologies and power structures. His recent projects are grounded in laboring with the land and adobe-making – a skill learned from his father, Ramón Esparza. In these projects, esparza has embraced large-scale collaboration with Brown and queer cultural producers, gathering people together to build networks of support outside of traditional art spaces.
Authored By
City of Santa Monica