LGBT nonprofit Queer|Art celebrated the works of two contemporary LGBT artists during their first-annual Queer|Art|Prize awards last weekend at Manhattan's Hudson Mercantile.

The honorees, photographer Catherine Opie and filmmaker Reina Gossett (below), each received a $10,000 prize and accolades from the organization. The prizes were funded by HBO.

Opie, whose photography centers queer American identities, received the group's Sustained Achievement award; Gossett received the Recent Work prize for her animated short The Personal Things. The November 2 event featured works from finalists and the honorees, including music videos, art installations, and live performances.

"Queer|Art was born out of the recognition of a generation of both artists and audiences that were lost to the AIDS Crisis, and in a profound understanding that one of the many repercussions of that loss was a lack of mentors and role models for a new generation of queer artists," founder and filmmaker Ira Sachs recalled at the event. "We are here to encourage, support, and empower a wide and growing number of artists from all backgrounds to value their own lives and their own unique, queer, creativity."

Catherine Opie

Founded in 2009, Queer|Art regularly offers events and mentorships for emerging LGBT artists. The organization works with partners like the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art and IFC Center and to support and exhibit the work of queer creatives.

Learn more about Queer|Art here.