Date: Oct 6, 2016 - Feb 26, 2017
Celebrating an often-hidden side of the history of New York City.
New York has long been a beacon for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender artists seeking freedom, acceptance, and community. Gay Gotham: Art and Underground Culture in New York brings to life the queer creative networks that sprang up in the city across the 20th century—a series of artistic subcultures whose radical ideas had lasting effects on the mainstream.
Peeling back the layers of New York’s LGBT life that thrived even in the shadows, this groundbreaking exhibition reveals an often-hidden side of the history of New York City and celebrates the power of artistic collaboration to transcend oppression. Visitors will encounter well-known figures, from Mae West to Leonard Bernstein to Andy Warhol, and discover lesser-known ones, such as feminist artist Harmony Hammond, painter and writer Richard Bruce Nugent, and transgender artist Greer Lankton. Surprising relationships emerge: Warhol and Mercedes de Acosta; Robert Mapplethorpe and Cecil Beaton; George Platt Lynes and Gertrude Stein.
Comprising two full galleries, Gay Gotham features the work of these artists, including paintings and photographs, as well as letters, snapshots, and ephemera that illuminate their personal bonds and reveal secrets that were scandal-provoking in their time and remain largely unknown today.
Join the conversation. #GayGotham
RELATED PROGRAMS
Gay Gotham: Art and Underground Culture in New York
Thursday, October 6 at 6:00 pm
Join artist Harmony Hammond, author Sarah Schulman, artists and activits Peter Cramer and Jack Waters, and Slate Editor Bryan Lowder as they discuss how the LGBT trendsetters of the 20th Century are shaping the contemporary culture of New York City.
Photography and Homoerotic Desire
Friday, October 14 at 6:30 pm at the School of Visual Arts
JoinThe New Yorker contributor Vince Aletti, writer and cultural critic Cynthia Carr, arts critic and author ofThe Homoerotic Photograph Allen Ellenzweig, and Professor Robert Reid-Pharr for a conversation moderated by author and photography critic Philip Gefter about the emergence of homoerotic photography in galleries and museums during the 1970s in New York City – an art historical moment rarely examined.
I Am Jazz: Family Read Aloud
Saturday, October 15 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Join us for a family read-aloud of I Am Jazz written by 16-year-old author and LGBT activist Jazz Jennings. Participate in a guided discussion for children and adults on gender expression and identity. Then visit the exhibition to explore the life of various queer artists and networks that sprang up in the city across the 20th century.
Educator Evening: Gay Gotham
Tuesday, October 18 from 5:00 – 6:30 pm
Discover key figures, including Mae West, Leonard Bernstein, Andy Warhol, and Alvin Ailey, during this in-depth curator-led tour for educators.
Making the Queer Scene
Tuesday, December 6 at 6:30 pm
Join a group of writers, performers, and activists as they discuss the historical and ongoing importance of queer nightlife in New York.
LGBTQ Teen Summit
Monday, February 20, 2017 from 9:00 – 3:00 pm
The LGBTQ Teen Summit at the Museum of the City of New York offers a full day experience for New York City teens in conjunction with this exhibition. Teens, ages 12-17, will come together to celebrate, share, create, learn, and discuss themes around the intersections of LGBTQ culture, history and art in New York