At the heart of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, gallery owner and curator Jonathan Carver Moore is preparing to open one of his most personal and ambitious exhibitions to date. Titled To Be Seen, the group show will debut June 5 at his namesake gallery and run through August 16, coinciding with Pride Month. Featuring all Black queer artists, the exhibition is a declaration of presence and a refusal to shrink.
“This show is about being visible,” Moore says. “I want to confront erasure. I want us to understand that it’s okay to be who we are, and to step into the light and to be seen.”
The exhibition stems from Moore’s personal journey as a Black gay man, moving through environments where embodying both identities often led to discomfort, judgment, or exclusion. These challenges—whether social, political, or geographic—have long shaped his perspective and ultimately motivated him to create a space where others wouldn’t have to shrink or hide parts of themselves.
Initially titled Confronting Erasure, Moore later renamed the show To Be Seen to make its message more immediate and accessible. The new title reflects his desire for clarity—a name that resonates at first glance and leaves no question about its intent. Its premise challenges the double bind that many Black queer individuals experience—feeling not “Black enough” in Black spaces, nor “queer enough” in LGBTQIA+ spaces. In curating the show, Moore sought to elevate artists whose work embodies this tension while also offering something tender, vulnerable, and defiant.
Artists such as Mayowa Nwadike and Ramekon O’Arwisters are among those featured. April Bey’s work interrogates colonialism and its ongoing impacts, particularly on Black identity. “Obviously, that’s how we ended up getting here and how America was built,” Moore notes.
Eric Hart Jr., known for his rich photographic language, brings a striking image that speaks to the complexities of masculinity, race, and queerness. Moore says, “He’s very vocal and outwardly wanting to talk about Black men queer issues—and I don’t feel like I see that a lot.”
Then there’s Johnson-Ricks, whose piece reflects on love, intimacy, and connection in unexpected places. “He talked to me about how bathhouses weren’t just sexual spaces—they were places of community,” Moore recalls. “The work shows two men in conversation, with care and humanity. I wanted people to see that—that we can care for each other without it always being sexualized.”
As Pride Month increasingly leans into commercialization at times, To Be Seen pushes back with emotional honesty and a distinctly political lens. The exhibition centers the experiences of Black queer individuals, offering a perspective that is often overlooked in mainstream Pride narratives.
“I’m going to use this month—and this group show—to bring attention to queer awareness, but in particular, queer Black awareness, because that’s what people are looking for and they are looking for that moment for ‘commercial’ moments like this,” Moore says. “But I want it to be so that you can see exactly how it is. I want you to understand that and see that, but I want you to understand it and see it from a Black perspective this time.”
That intention is also reflected in the atmosphere Moore has cultivated at his gallery. As the only openly gay Black male gallery owner in San Francisco, he’s built a space where marginalized voices are affirmed without question, and a place where visitors can feel at ease, unfiltered, and fully themselves.
Ultimately, Moore hopes visitors walk away with a deeper understanding of what it means to navigate life at the intersection of Blackness and queerness. He references sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois’ concept of double consciousness but adds a modern extension. “There should be this idea of triple consciousness—being Black, being a man, and being queer,” he says. “I want people to take away the weight of what that means.”
With To Be Seen, Moore is offering a mirror to a community that’s long been asked to shrink, soften, and disappear. This exhibition, instead, asks them to stand tall, and be seen.