May 17 marks the 12th annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT), which Mongolia has celebrated since 2011. IDAHOT was created to bring attention to the discrimination and violence LGBT people face, as well as to recognize advancements in LGBT equality. This year’s theme is mental health. Addressing the theme, Executive Director of Mongolia’s LGBT Centre Anaraa Nyamdorj notes that Mongolia’s health sector is currently “not needs-based or culturally competent for LGBT people.” To commemorate the occasion, the LGBT Centre has organized a weeklong visual arts exhibition. The exhibition launches tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Pearl Art Gallery and will run until May 22 at 6 p.m. There is no entry fee. The gallery will feature various projects by graduates of the LGBT Centre’s Youth Leadership Programme, as well as artwork submitted for the 3rd IDAHOT visual arts competition. According to the LGBT Centre, the projects and artwork “encapsulate the spirit and reality of what it means to be LGBTI in Mongolia, as well as the extent to which we’re all able to enjoy, or not, our right to and freedom of expression around sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.”