The Curve Foundation launches with a mission to empower LGBTQ women
Building on 30 years of publishing, Curve, the world’s best-selling lesbian magazine, has started a new chapter.
The Curve Foundation will empower and amplify voices of the Curve Community: lesbians, queer women, trans women, and non-binary people of all races, ages, and abilities. The Curve Foundation will encourage and support active storytelling and cross-generational dialogue by supporting journalism in the tradition of Curve magazine, investing in the next generation of intersectional leaders, and bolstering existing community archives as a resource to ensure LGBTQ+ women’s culture and history can be known.
Curve magazine founder Franco Stevens reacquired the publication and donated it to the Foundation to leverage the iconic name and brand and amplify the Foundation’s mission. Curve magazine is now a nonprofit project of The Curve Foundation, and Franco’s decision to reimagine how Curve will serve the Curve Community in its next chapter is captured in the award-winning documentary film Ahead of the Curve — now available for DVD pre-order.
Founding Executive Director Jasmine Sudarkasa says, “Telling fearless stories has always been the heart of Curve‘s mission. The opportunity to invest in intersectional queer stories and celebrate lesbian visibility feels fearless in the face of twin pandemics – true to the spirit of Curve and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I am so excited for the future of this Foundation.”
The Curve Foundation’s initial programs include the Curve Award for Emerging Journalists and the Curve Archive. In partnership with NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, the Curve Award will recognize and support emerging journalistic writers who are focused on raising the visibility of LGBTQ+ women by telling their stories and elevating their voices. The Curve Archive, being built at curvemag.com, will be a permanent and searchable archive of the existing 30 years of the iconic Curve magazine issues that document the history and historic voices of the lesbian movement. There is no other existing resource that so fully documents queer women’s past and present.
Co-founders Franco Stevens and her wife, philanthropist Jen Rainin said: “We are thrilled to have Curve magazine back home and excited for the work The Curve Foundation will do to continue the mission of Curve magazine that began in 1991.”
To learn more about The Curve Foundation, visit https://thecurvefoundation.org/
For information about the film, Ahead of the Curve, visit https://curvemagmovie.com/
