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Hidden Queer Histories Of Two Cities: Queens, NY, and Brighton, UK

Two exhibitions will open to the public in the next few weeks that aim to share previously untold histories of their local LGBT communities. In Queens, New York, The Lavender Line recounts the coming out story of LGBT activism in the borough; in Brighton, England, personal objects offer a narrative glimpse into the lives of the city's transgender community at Museum of Transology.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Dromm Photograph Collection, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, LAGCC, CUNY

Image: Queens Lesbian & Gay Pride Committee Co-Chairs Maritza Martinez, Daniel Dromm, (third and fourth from left) lead the First Annual Queens Pride Parade, 1993.

The Lavender Line: Coming Out in Queens

A new multimedia exhibition entitled, The Lavender Line: Coming Out in Queens spotlights the largely unknown history of LGBT activism in the NYC borough from the 1990s to the present and coincides with the 25th anniversary of Queens Pride.

Following a series of anti-LGBT incidents, including the brutal murder of Julio Rivera, in the early 1990s, City Council Member Daniel Dromm and fellow activist Maritza Martinez were energized to co-found the Queens Lesbian & Gay Pride Committee. In 1993, the organization took to the streets demanding to be heard in the community and, thus, held the first Queens Pride Parade. That year, there were 1,000 marchers in attendance. (By contrast, nearly 40,000 participate in the annual event today.)

The Lavender Line exhibition, features both historical and contemporary photographs, flyers, video footage, and audio recordings that express the pride and protests of a New York community. Its title references lavender as the symbol originally associated with the gay rights movement as well as the color of the line marking the Queens Pride Parade route in Jackson Heights.

The exhibit runs through July 30 at the Queens Museum, Queens, New York.

Falsies by Katy Davies, (c) Fashion Space Gallery.jpg

Museum of Transology

As part of its broader program entitled Be Bold, the UK's Brighton Museum will launch its Museum of Transology, a personal, thought-provoking collection of photographic portraits and crowd-sourced artifacts mainly from Brighton's transgender community, the largest collection of its kind in the UK.

“This is a highly intimate display that challenges the idea that gender is fixed, binary and biologically determined, by exploring how the objects...reflect people’s self-determined gender journeys," said collector and exhibition curator, E-J Scott (photo at top) in a statement. "It addresses issues including violence against trans people, intersex and non-binary identities, fashion’s shaping of gender identity, medical transition and the spectacularisation of trans peoples’ lives by the mainstream media. [The exhibit] has been made possible by those who donated their stories and personal objects, which commonly share themes of hope, ambition and determination. Most of the display items are accompanied by a handwritten narrative from their donors.”

Other highlights of the exhibit include a slide show of nearly 100 portraits of transgender people by Bharat Sikka and Sharon Kilgannon, a number of films, and a soundtrack of music from transgender artists and bands. Visitors will also be invited to leave their own personal journey inscribed on a tag.

The Museum of Transology exhibit runs July 20 through Summer 2018 at the Spotlight Gallery, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Brighton, UK.

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