Our People, Our Stories: Celebrating LGBTQ+ Chosen Family

This exhibit grew from an ongoing community-based research collaboration between The PRIDE Lab in the Department of Psychology at Cornell University and our community partners: The Ali Forney Center in New York City and The Q Center in Syracuse, New York. Together, we are investigating how chosen family shapes identity, resilience, and mental health among LGBTQ+ youth and young adults.

The art featured here was created by LGBTQ+ youth and young adults from The Ali Forney Center and The Q Center as part of that collaboration, as well as students at Cornell University. Each piece reflects their experiences, perspectives, and hopes — stories of connection, survival and belonging. Through their artwork, these young people invite us to see the beauty and power of chosen family, and to imagine a world where everyone is free to build the families they need and deserve.

For many LGBTQ+ people, chosen family refers to the intentional networks of care, love, and belonging that we create outside of traditional biological or legal ties. These families may include close friends, romantic partners, mentors, housemates, or community members who show up for one another in meaningful ways—celebrating milestones, offering shelter or emotional support, and sharing daily life.

Chosen families often emerge as acts of love and survival, especially for those who have experienced rejection, isolation, or misunderstanding from relatives or institutions. They reflect a core value of LGBTQ+ culture: that family is something we build, not simply something we’re born into.