Freeform Art Gallery in Fairfield to host series on Iowa transgender folks

Artist Ramin Roshandel has put together a piece called “Listen to Me! A Tintype Series of Iowa Transgender Folks.”

The show will run May 30 through July 5 at Freeform Art Gallery in Fairfield, with an opening reception during the First Friday Art Walk on June 6, where the artist plans to be present.

Roshandel released the following statement explaining the work:

“The work presented here centers on visibility, presence, and voice. I invited a group of trans individuals from Iowa to participate in a collaborative portrait project using the wet plate collodion process—an early photographic technique that requires stillness, care, and time. Each participant received a 5x7" photograph as a gift, while their 8x10 portraits anchor this exhibition.

“Accompanying the images is a layered soundscape composed of audio recordings contributed by each participant. I invited them to bring a poem, a story, a conversation, or any expression they wished to share. Together, these voices and images stand in quiet but firm resistance—asserting humanity in the face of erasure.

“This exhibition emerges in response to an act that occurred on February 28, 2025, when Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill removing gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Set to take effect on July 1, the law will strip transgender Iowans of state-level protections against discrimination in housing, employment, public spaces, and beyond.”