June 28th marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in 1969, when the New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, leading to protests and violent clashes outside the Christopher Street establishment ~ and the beginning of the gay rights movement. Celebrating Stonewall 50, beginning in March, and leading up to the World Pride NYC March: Stonewall 50 in June, here are a few suggestions. We will continue to add events as the year progresses.
Celebrate PRIDE In Harlem Renaissance with Taste Harlem Food & Cultural Tours all Year Long
Join Taste Harlem Food & Cultural Tours on a plethora of tours ranging from A Pride in Harlem Renaissance Tour or Vogue Dance Class with Tour or Harlem Drag Brunch & Tour + more.
On the (Queer) Waterfront at Brooklyn Historical Society ~ March 5
On the (Queer) Waterfront is the first exhibit to focus on the borough’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer history. It will put the spotlight on this often overlooked part of Brooklyn’s past which was centered primarily along the waterfront “where industrial jobs, cheap housing, and urban anonymity life [sic] provided unique opportunities for queer people to explore their own desires and discover one another,” according to a release announcing the exhibition.
Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50 on view at The New York Public Library
This exhibition illustrates this history through the photographs of Kay Tobin Lahusen and Diana Davies, two pioneering photojournalists, who captured the pivotal events of this era, and changed the ways that LGBTQ people perceived themselves. Related programming
Welcome To La Misa, Baby at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center ~ March 29, 30, 31
Like the shards of light reflected off a mirror ball, in Welcome to La Misa, Baby, Migguel Anggelo swirls through a gallery of characters found in the most sacred of places in queer culture: The Gay Disco. Based on the horrific Pulse Nightclub shooting, Migguel takes us inside the fictional gay nightclub, La Misa, and introduces us to the characters that find community and refuge under its roof. Located at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC)in Long Island City.
VOULEZ-VOUS? for One Night Only ~ April 5
Theatre C is throwing it back all the way to the queer nightlife debauchery of 19th century France with their VOULEZ`VOUS? event. Guests are encouraged to don Belle Epoque-inspired fashions and dance the night away to music spanning the eras spun by Queer DJ Bright Light from Club Cumming in the multi-purpose gallery space that will become the Moulin Rouge, as designed by designers Frank Oliva (Oklahoma!) and Andrew Garvis. Held in the Plaxall Gallery with interactive one-on-one experiences, you are sure to feel very welcome to express yourself in any way you choose at this evening of Bohemian fantasy. Located at The Plaxall Gallery, 5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City.
George Platt Lynes: Portraits, Nudes, & Dance at Keith de Lellis Gallery ~ April 11
Keith de Lellis Gallery showcases the portrait photography of noted fashion photographer and influential artist George Platt Lynes(American, 1907-1955) in its spring exhibition. Though largely concealed during his lifetime (or published under pseudonyms), Lynes’ male nude photographs are perhaps his most notable works today and inspired later artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe and Herb Ritts.
Art after Stonewall, 1969 ~ 1989 ~ April 24 to July 20
NYU/Grey Art Gallery and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay & Lesbian Art announced a major exhibition, examining the impact of the LGBTQ movement on visual arts and culture this April, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprisings. The exhibition will feature over 200 works of art and related visual materials exploring the impact of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) liberation movement on visual culture, presented in two parts ~ at New York University’s Grey Art Gallery, and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. Grey Art Gallery Opening Reception will be held on Tuesday, April 23 from 6-8pm.
Nobody Promised You Tomorrow: Art 50 Years After Stonewall at Brooklyn Museum ~ May 3
Nobody Promised You Tomorrow: Art 50 Years After Stonewallcommemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising—a six-day clash between police and civilians ignited by a routine raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City—and explores its profound legacy within contemporary art and visual culture today. The exhibition draws its title from the rallying words of transgender artist and activist Marsha P. Johnson, underscoring both the precariousness and the vitality of LGBTQ+ communities.
Gay Bars That Are gone ~ the Jane’s Walks Tour, will be held on Saturday, May 4th at 6pm. Register for this Free event, and check out more of the Municipal Art Society of New York’s Jane’s Walk Tours.
Camp: Notes on Fashion at The MET ~ May 9
Through more than 200 objects dating from the seventeenth century to the present, The Costume Institute’s spring 2019 exhibition will explore the origins of camp’s exuberant aesthetic. Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes on ‘Camp'” provides a framework for the exhibition, including how these elements—irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration—are expressed in fashion.
The Stonewall Operas ~ May 18, 19, 20
These four brand-new 30-minute Stonewall-inspired operas (see titles below) are written and composed by alums of Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, as part of the Advanced Opera Lab led by Randall Eng, Associate Arts Professor of GMTW, and Sam Helfrich, Associate Arts Professor of Design for Stage & Film (both TSOA). The operas are designed by students from the Design Department and choreographed by students from the Dance Department (both TSOA), directed by students from the New School, and performed by professional opera singers from American Opera Projects.
A collaborative project of NYU/Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, Department of Design for Stage and Film, and Department of Dance; the New School; American Opera Projects; and the Stonewall Inn; co-sponsored by the Grey Art Gallery.
Stonewall 50 Exhibitions at New York Historical Society ~ May 24
Curated by the Lesbian Herstory Archives Graphic Committee, By the Force of Our Presence: Highlights from the Lesbian Herstory Archives examines lesbian lives both pre- and post-Stonewall, highlighting institution-building, organization, and networking within the LGBTQ movement with a focus on the contributions of lesbians and queer women.
PRIDE at Museum of the City of New York ~ June 6
As part of the national celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, the Museum of the City of New York presents PRIDE: Photographs of Stonewall and Beyond by Fred W. McDarrah, featuring Fred W. McDarrah’s images of the initial Stonewall uprising, portraits of significant figures in the LGBTQ rights movement, and photographs of pride marches, protests, and public events for the LGBTQ community.
Walt Whitman: Bard of Democracy at The Morgan Library ~ June 7
Spill the Tea ~ Celebrating PRIDE at Harlem Stage ~ June 15
In their 2nd annual Pride program Harlem Stage gives voice to the unique experiences of Southern Black Gay Men. E. Patrick Johnson will discuss his collection of oral histories for his book, Sweet Tea, and how he adapted the book to a stage play and then to a documentary film.
Historian John Reddick at Apollo Live Wire ~ June 18
Historian John T. Reddick draws from the Apollo’s archive and other sources to look at the history and evolution of Queer performance both on and off the stage in this Apollo Live Wire celebrating Pride. Featuring special guest and performer Pony Zion.
Pride Auction at Swann Auction Galleries ~ June 20
Swann Galleries’ first Pride Auction, an exploration and celebration of the art, influence, history and experience of the LGBTQ+ community, being held in the same month as WorldPride and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, is shaping up to be a landmark event. Collectors, connoisseurs and the curious will find a range of material from the last two centuries, with manuscripts, autographs, literature, art, photography, posters and more.
WorldPride Opening Ceremony at Barclays Center ~ June 26
Cyndi Lauper, Ciara and Todrick Hall will be headlining the Opening Ceremony, with Whoopi Goldberg hosting! A night to remember. Tickets go on sale April 12th
World Pride Weekend ~ Femme Fatale ~ June 30
Fabulous two-part Event for World Pride Weekend at Hudson Terrace, a NYC Pride official Sunday event for women. Tickets here..
World Pride NYC Stonewall 50 March ~ June 30, 2019
#Stonewall50
