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10 Exhibits On LGBTQ History To Visit This Pride Month
In the United States, June is Pride Month, and along with the parades and glitter, Pride Month 2019 is time to visits exhibits on LGBTQ history around the world. Why this year? In 2019, the LGBTQ community also has something special to commemorate: this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, largely considered to be the start of the modern day gay rights' movement in America. (For a quick history lesson, the riots began when patrons of the Stonewall Inn in New York City's Greenwich Village rebelled against a police raid on June 28, 1969.) Half a century later, museums across the United States are analyzing and celebrating those events — and galleries and museums worldwide are highlighting the art, politics, and dialogues around the modern LGBTQ experience.
Whether you'd like a deep dive into the power and legacy of Stonewall, an insight into genderless fashion, a snapshot of iconic queer experiences like drag balls, or a walk through history through a queer lens, exhibitions worldwide have you covered this June. Many exhibitions are free to the public, and those in the U.S. are often partnered with events throughout Pride Month, including talks and presentations, so keep an eye on the calendar. If you have a trip or a staycation planned, consider making a stop at once of these spots.
1"Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50", New York Public Library, New York, NY
The New York Public Library is commemorating the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising during Pride Month with an exhibition of photographs by photojournalists Kay Tobin Lahusen and Diana Davies. They were on the ground during the protests that followed the initial clashes, and their work provides a powerful window into the history of the fight for LGBTQ rights across America.
Free, until July 13, 2019; find information here.
2"Nobody Promised You Tomorrow: Art 50 Years After Stonewall," Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
After Stonewall, what happened to queer identity? At this exhibition in the Brooklyn Museum's Center For Feminist Art, 28 artists who identify as LGBTQ attempt to answer that question. All were born after the seminal events of 1969, and their works deal, in varied, shocking and beautiful ways, with what happened next.
Free, until Dec. 8, 2019; find information here.
3"LGBTQ Tours," Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
Once a month, volunteers host a guided tour of the storied collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, telling the hidden LGBTQ history of some of its most treasured objects.
Free, on the last Saturday every month until December 2019; find information here.
4"Stonewall 50" Public Art, Boston, MA
To commemorate the 50 year anniversary of Stonewall, an exhibition organized by the History Project and the Boston Pride Committee will cover public areas across Boston with original posters and art from 1969's protests. Each poster will be posted in places that have meaning for the local LGBTQ community, and a map is available to guide walkers through those connections and where the art can be found.
Free, throughout Pride Month 2019; find a map of the sites here.
5"Anybody Walking?" Town Hall, Xth Arrondissement, Paris, France
The world of Paris Is Burning and Pose comes to life in the photographs of Xavier Héraud, exhibited this month in Paris, France. First found in the states in the 1970s, the drag ball scene — where queer and transgender people of color found a safe space to flourish and vogue the house down — spread worldwide, including to Paris, where Héraud has documented it meticulously in photographs. This small exhibition is set to have a big impact.
Free, until July 6, 2019; find information here (in French).
6"Gender-Bending Fashion," Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, MA
This exhibition embraces the androgynous, boundary-blurring, gender-redefining designers and icons of history, and looks forward to the ways in which fashion can change perceptions about gender.
From $23.00 or free for members, until August 25, 2019; get tickets here.
7"Kiss My Genders," Hayward Gallery, Southbank Center, London, UK
This wide-ranging art exhibition brings together 100 works from artists worldwide who engage with issues of gender fluidity and transgender identity. It includes everything from photography and sculpture to installations on-site.
From $18.00, until September 8, 2019; get tickets here.
8"Camp: Notes On Fashion", Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York, NY
Just what is camp? If the red carpet at the Met Ball left you scratching your head, get into this exhibition — based on Susan Sontag's classic essay on camp — to form your own conclusions. Learn more about camp's roots in the LGBTQ community and what the future of the aesthetic holds.
From $12.00, until September 8, 2019; get tickets here.
9"The Queer Archives Institute," Schwules Museum, Berlin, Germany
The Schwules Museum is one of the foremost LGBTQ museums worldwide, and its June exhibition gives an unparalleled insight into queer life. The Polish artist Karol Radziszewski has curated an archive that commemorates queer activism in central and Eastern Europe, and aims to expand our idea of Pride beyond the West.
Free, June 19 until September 23, 2019; find information here.
10"Stonewall 50," Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, Texas
The CAMH's angle on commemorating Stonewall uses the events of 1969 as a spark to create new ideas: dialogues about visibility, insights into queer experience around the world, and celebrating LGBTQ art from 1969 onwards. The program of 16 artists aims big, so prepare to have your mind expanded (and probably blown).
Free, until July 28, 2019; find information here.
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Are you ready to have an epic Pride month? Whatever your taste, June 2019 looks like a truly spectacular one for LGBTQ artists, art and history.
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