Deidre DeFranceaux is an artist and educator who has been practicing in the Bay Area since 1990. Deidre DeFranceaux has been collaborating with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to create a legacy project which honors, celebrates and archives for future generations the likenesses, voices, stories, and histories of these groundbreaking icons.
This project, begun in 2018, started as portraits of Sisters which, like the subjects, were larger than life, over the top, highly embellished, campily humorous, and breaking the box in every direction. What started as paintings to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of The Sisters for a show at The Harvey Milk Center and special appearance in San Francisco City Hall for Pride 2019 has evolved into an extensive , ongoing endeavor which will soon include recordings of each Sister in authentic voices to accompany each piece, with the goal of inclusion in the Library of Congress.This project aims to create a cross generational exchange which will broaden the public understanding of, and relation to, the Sisters, their mission, and their myriad contributions to the LGBTQ community. By sharing personal anecdotes, tales of overcoming obstacles, approaches to personal empowerment and of forging unique identity, elder Sisters will bolster and inspire the young people their stories touch, and viewers and listeners at large.