Thursday's parting shot

Adrian Wilson created this work today outside the New York Sports Club on Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street... part of a commemoration marking the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising...

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Incredibly flattered to be asked to do a piece of (not sponsored) street art in NYC to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall by @thelisaprojectnyc for @worldpride2019 #worldpride

A post shared by Adrian Wilson's art page (@plannedalism) on Jun 13, 2019 at 5:21pm PDT

About the 'Pay It No Mind' mural honoring LGBTQ+ advocate Marsha P. Johnson outside the F train stop on 2nd Avenue

This new mural titled "Pay It No Mind" arrived this past weekend outside the F stop on Second Avenue at East Houston...



The work is a collaboration between Suriani, a visual artist based in Montréal, and Homo Riot.

It's part of an in-progress Queer Street Art documentary by photographer and filmmaker Daniel Albanese aka @dustyrebel for Pride Month. This piece honors LGBTQ advocate Marsha P. Johnson, a leader in the Stonewall uprising.

(Suriani’s imagine of Marsha P. Johnson is based on Richard Shupper’s studio portrait of Johnson from 1991, the year before her death.)



Albanese talked more about the mural in an interview published yesterday at Brooklyn Street Art:

This wall is actually the kick off to a series of Queer Street Art that will be coming to NYC for Pride Month. I have partnered with Art In Ad Places, Keep Fighting NYC, and other community based projects to create a queer alternative to the overwhelming flood of corporate pride events.

While not part of Reclaim Pride Coalition’s inaugural Queer Liberation March on June 30, I was inspired by the activists who have organized to bring the “Spirit of Stonewall” directly to the street, and who are keeping the focus on the continuing needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

The mural was also defaced short after its arrival on Second Avenue:

I know street art is ephemeral, and I also know that work that is unapologetically queer is especially targeted. So I knew it was coming, I just didn’t expect something that big and that fast in less than 30 hours. We made this piece as a community, for our community. We really wanted to start conversation about the issues that LGBTQ+ people face, and to honor the memory of Marsha P. Johnson and the Stonewall Riot. To have that important conversation cut short felt like a punch in the gut.

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In less than 30 hours from completion, New York’s only non-corporate sponsored, fully and unapologetically queer pride mural was destroyed. . But like Marsha, we PAY IT NO MIND . And rise again . . @homoriot @surianiart #homoriot #surianiart #marshapjohnson #payitnomind #suriani #queerliberation #stonewallwasariot #PassThatBrick #dustyrebelproduction #worldpride #queerstreetart #gaystreetart #nycstreetart #instagay #lgbtq #queerart #gayart

A post shared by TheDustyRebel (@dustyrebel) on Jun 3, 2019 at 9:14am PDT

Late last month, the de Blasio administration announced that it will create a permanent Greenwich Village monument to honor Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, founders of the Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries.

Love and resistance: Stonewall 50 programs at the Tompkins Square Library

[Photo via the NYPL]

In the coming months, the New York Public Library is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

Here's more about the Stonewall 50: "Through a major exhibition, a series of programs, book recommendations, and more, we invite you to learn more about the emergence of the modern LGBTQ movement, as well as culture, issues, and activism today."

The Tompkins Square Library branch, 331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B, is hosting five of the programs. (Each program has a link for registration at the top of its page.)

• March 14 at 6 p.m.: The Drag March & Other Tales of Glamour and Resistance: A Storytelling Workshop Join Heather Acs and the NYC Drag March for a storytelling workshop, and share your own experiences of LGBTQ life in the Village and LES.

• April 10 at 6 p.m.: SECOND WORKSHOP — The Drag March & Other Tales of Glamour and Resistance: A Storytelling Workshop. There is a separate registration for the second workshop.

• April 20 at 3 p.m.: Queer Black Films: "Looking for Langston" and Two Films by Hayat Hyatt. An intergenerational pairing of film and video works explores black queer inheritance and desire through Isaac Julien’s "Looking for Langston" and two films by Hayat Hyatt.

• May 8 at 6 p.m.: A Drag March Storyslam: Tales of Glamour and Resistance. Join a storytelling performance about the incredible history of the Drag March!

• June 8 at 3 p.m.: Reviving Assotto Saint's "New Love Song" (1989). A celebration of the life and work of Assotto Saint (1957-1994): poet, playwright, performer, editor, publisher, performer, caretaker and trouble-maker.

In 1989, Assato Saint’s multimedia theater piece "New Love Song" put black gay men on center stage in New York City, providing a space for storytelling, ritual, and healing. Join original cast members, collaborators, and friends as we reflect on the 30th anniversary of this undersung production and its "Forever Gay" creator.