Letter to my Father

Wright State University's College of Liberal Arts and the Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries are excited to present a lecture and video, Letter to my Father, by artist Jess T. Dugan, opening Tuesday, October 10, and running through December 16, 2023. Jess T. Dugan is an artist whose portrait photography delves into issues of identity, highlighting the nuances of gender and sexuality. Letter to my Father is an autobiographical video exploring Dugan's estranged relationship with their father. In the video, Dugan reads an undelivered letter to their father, in which they try to come to terms with a difficult and distant relationship. 

The undelivered letter weaves together aspects of Dugan's life, including their early gender nonconformity, family conflict, queer identity, personal relationships, desires to create a family and become a parent, and—ultimately—their father's inability to accept them.  

Through the telling of this highly personal story, the video grapples with two fundamental desires, often placed in direct opposition to one another: the need to live authentically and the desire for acceptance from others. 

Jess T. Dugan will give a public lecture, "Look at Me Like You Love Me," on Wednesday, October 18 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Schuster Hall, followed by a reception in the Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries.