Mackenzie Calle (Documentary Practice ’22) showcased her long-term project The Gay Space Agency in a 2025 group exhibition at Fotografiska Tallinn. The project confronts the American space program’s historical exclusion of openly queer astronauts. Guided by extensive research, Part One examines the policies and practices that prevented members of the LGBTQ+ community from flying, including the use of heterosexuality tests. Using a mix of NASA archival images and documents alongside original other-worldly imagery, this section weaves together a visual narrative from the beginning of the astronaut program in 1959 to the present day.
Part Two shifts from historical documentation to imagination, celebrating all identities and envisioning queer astronauts through the creation of a fictional Gay Space Agency. This project offers a counter-narrative to the astronaut program’s exclusionary history, presenting a future in which space exploration is diverse, inclusive, and accepting. As NASA’s Artemis program aims to establish a permanent presence on the moon beginning in 2027, The Gay Space Agency asks what it truly means to have the “right stuff.”
"Ever since I was a kid right through high school, I was interested in space. And so, I think some of the initial ideas for this specific project had started before my time at ICP. And then when I was here, we were asked to develop a long term project. The ideas around something in space, queer space, Sally Ride and astronauts really started to take shape."
In addition to her exhibition, Calle gave a TEDx talk at Fotografiska Tallinn in early November. In October 2025, she participated in the World’s Biggest Analog, a two-week simulation of life on the Moon, Mars, and beyond, as an embedded analog astronaut at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. Funded by the National Geographic Society, the project allowed her to document what life on the Red Planet might look like while still grounded on Earth, offering insight into the preparation and imagination required for human space exploration.
"What will life look like on Mars? We are living in a new era of space exploration, where the public and private sectors have entered into a modern space race to create permanent settlements beyond Earth. Soon, our planet might not be the only heavenly body we call home."
See more of Calle’s work on her website: mackenziecalle.com
Images: Mackenzie Calle
Mackenzie Calle
