Gunner Sizemore
SPOTLIGHT:
Gunner Sizemore
“Through my family I grew up in the rodeo world, and while this world is familiar to me, I never felt completely at home there. In the rodeo community, you pray, sing the National Anthem about our great country, talk about the Republicans in office and how we hope they’ll fix things, all before any cowboy touches the arena dirt. To this world, my sexuality is a taboo. Through the Gate, In the Arena reveals a different side of the rodeo, one that is little known; it was only until I began this project that I had found that gay rodeo existed. While I still am happy going to straight rodeos, the disappointment in those years is what drives me to create the work in this project. I always wondered if any of those cowboys/cowgirls were like me when they rode a bull or ran barrels.”
Gunner Sizemore’s project Through the Gate, In the Arena documents the world of gay rodeo—a community he never knew existed while growing up in traditional Southern rodeo culture. Drawing from his own experience of queerness within a conservative environment, he photographs this scene with nuance and empathy, centering the individuals who make it what it is.
Browse a selection of works from the ongoing series below, along with Sizemore’s words about the moments, people, and stories behind each image.
About Gunner Sizemore:
Gunner Sizemore is a photographer and digital artist based in the Mississippi Delta, where his practice is shaped by the landscape and culture he grew up in. A two-time graduate of Delta State University, Sizemore earned his BFA in Photography and Graphic Design in 2020 before returning to complete his MFA in Studio Art in 2024. Alongside his artistic practice, he has built a wide-ranging career in arts education and visual communication. He is currently a Digital Arts Professor at Mississippi Valley State University and previously taught as an adjunct at Delta State, while also running his own photography studio since 2017. His professional background includes several years as a graphic designer, freelance editorial contributor, and instructor for youth photography programs.
Sizemore’s work has been recognized through multiple awards at Delta State University’s Annual Juried Student Exhibition—including the President Purchase Award in both 2019 and 2024—as well as honors from the Big Gay Art Show in Sedona. His photographs have been exhibited nationally in juried exhibitions, with selections shown at Larson Gallery in Washington, Black Box Gallery in Oregon, the Sedona Arts Center in Arizona, and venues across Mississippi. His ongoing project Through the Gate, In the Arena will be the subject of a forthcoming solo exhibition at Delta Arts Alliance in Cleveland, MS (December 4–30, 2026), further expanding his exploration of queer identity within rodeo culture.
In addition to his studio and teaching practice, Sizemore has contributed writing and photography to Delta Magazine and has been profiled in regional publications for his ongoing commitment to documenting the people and stories of the Delta.
Portrait of Gunner Sizemore courtesy of the artist.