Collected Item: “hedono-futurism”
Your Name
Prishita Maheshwari-Aplin
Your Pronouns
they/them
Instagram handle, if any
prishita.eloise
Work Title
hedono-futurism
Work Year (We are not accepting images older than 5 years)
2026
[Image Rights] Do you confirm that you hold the rights to this image?
Yes
[Eligibility] The Curve Photo Contest proudly centers and uplifts people who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer women and nonbinary people. Please share how you self-identify, using language that feels most accurate to you. Feel free to include all intersections of your identity. (Examples: lesbian, trans person of color, Latinx queer woman, radical faery, butch, etc.)
queer, dyke, trans non-binary migrant of colour
[Artist Statement] Tell us more about your photo by sharing a brief artist statement OR answering this prompt: "This is what being ______ means to me..." (Max. 100 words)
As a community, we can feel a need to seek release as individualistic escapism in the arms of the rave. But what can the dance floor look like when we engage with our pleasure with intentionality, collectivity and futurity? For me, this moment of joy, lacking in self-consciousness or pretence, captures this hedono-futurism. A world-making xeno-euphoria created in the safe arms of a cherished community.
[Visual Description] Describe your photo so we can provide alt-text. Example: "Two women holding hands and smiling as they walk in a pride parade, surrounded by rainbow flags."
A mixed race Black lesbian smiles with her tongue between her teeth and her arms up in the air on the dance floor. Her curls fall over her closed eyes, gold eyeshadow glittering in the light. She's wearing a green mesh top with a blue trim, and a chain necklace with a green iPod shuffle as the pendant.
[Agreement] In the event that you win the 2026 Curve Photo Contest, do you consent to having your photograph printed for the sole purpose of displaying at The Curve Foundation's one-day event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco, CA) during Lesbian Visibility Week? The Curve Foundation will cover printing costs, but will not cover costs for mailing the print after the event ends.
Yes
[Agreement] Do you consent to The Curve Foundation storing, sharing, and using this image and its description as we deem appropriate, including disseminating on our social media, website, and Curve Archive and Curve Quarterly?
Yes
[Agreement] By checking 'I understand' below, I acknowledge that this contest upholds values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and I confirm that my submission does not contain anti-LGBTQ+ or other discriminatory, hateful, or exclusionary content.
I understand