Category Archives: News and Happenings
Lady Bunny and Bianca Del Rio Team up for Hateful Hags
Hateful, sassy and sometimes lewd and crude! Lady Bunny and Bianca Del Rio team up for a Vimeo event called HATEFUL HATES NETWORK.
(From INSTINCT Magazine)- For drag performers, performing during these challenging times has proven to cause performers to be beyond inventive. From shows direct from their living rooms to Brandon Voss’ Drive ‘N Drag nationwide series, queens have managed to keep their art alive and thriving during this time. Sherry Vine & Jackie Beat for example, have continued their famed Battle of the Bitches shows live online, (the most recent was the Halloween themed Battle of the Witches) and another famed duo is about to hit our small screens with their own patented brand of twisted comedy.
Legendary Wigstock creator/DJ/drag legend Lady Bunny and RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6 winner turned stand up drag sensation Bianca Del Rio are co-anchoring HHN: Hateful Hags Network, a roast/cable news channel hybrid, where they will be delivering everything from filthy jokes to a a musical number, in only the way this duo can. They promise equal opportunity hate for RuPaul’s Drag Race queens from all seasons, tossing in some costume changes and…a surprise guest?
Lady Bunny exclusively tells EW “Enough with COVID and politics. It’s time for something really important… back-stabbing drag queens!” while Bianca Del Rio adds: “Due to COVID, some ‘Drag Race’ queens have opened OnlyFans accounts. Bunny and I would never do that. Not because of any moral objections — because we’re ugly!”
Tune in to ‘HHH: Hateful Hags Network’ on Thursday, November 12th at 8PM EST. Tickets are $9.99 at Vimeo.
New York City Reopen Plans
From ABC NEWS; After three gloomy months and 21,000 deaths that made it the nation’s most lethal hot spot, New York City slowly began reopening Monday (June 9th, 2020) in the biggest test yet of Americans’ ability to keep the coronavirus in check.
Owners of smaller shops were eager to reopen, even if they didn’t expect much business.
“We are going to be open every day for the sake of showing life,” said eyewear designer Ahlem Manai-Platt, who was reopening a lower Manhattan store.
From TRAVEL PULSE; Phase 1 includes construction and manufacturing, mostly, along with some retail clothing, electronics, jewelry and luggage stores, among others.
Each phase will take two weeks before moving into the next phase, unless confirmed cases of the virus continue to drop more dramatically and then New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo will consider speeding things up.
Fortune magazine estimated that New York City is losing $173 million a day. “The coronavirus crisis is shrinking New York City’s economy on a scale far more vast than the squeeze on any other U.S. metropolis,” Fortune wrote.
The short answer to the question of when one of the world’s great destinations will reopen to tourism is not until the end of June, when Phase 3 kicks in. Phase 3 includes the bulk of the hospitality industry, with restaurants and other food-service businesses allowed to reopen for dine-in service, as well as hotels that are not already open servicing overnight guests.
Phase 4 includes arts, entertainment, museums, theaters and movie theaters.
New York City has more than 40 major theaters hosting first-run plays and musicals, not to mention Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions. Now the shows won’t go on again until Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the earliest, and more likely not until after the first of the year. Many people don’t realize how tightly packed a 1,000-seat theater can be, making social distancing difficult. And reduced capacity makes it financially cumbersome for Broadway shows to continue. READ MORE HERE.
NYC Pride June 25th 2020 Live Stream
NYC Pride and our partners at WABC Channel 7 are proud to announce a special broadcast event on Sunday, June 28, 2020, from 12:00 to 2:00 pm to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Pride March held in 1970.
In this unique year, NYC Pride is committed to saluting front-line workers alongside several leaders in the community being honored as Grand Marshals: Dan Levy, The Ali Forney Center, Yanzi Peng, and Victoria Cruz.
While it may be a different type of celebration, the tradition of commemorating the LGBTQIA+ movement will continue!
The special will feature performances by Janelle Monáe, Deborah Cox, Billy Porter, Luísa Sonza and more.
Expect to see appearances by Wilson Cruz, Miss Richfield 1981, Margaret Cho and others. WABC’s very own Ken Rosato and Lauren Glassberg will be joined by special guest co-host Carson Kressley, along with correspondents Sam Champion and Kemberly Richardson.
New York City Gay Pride 2020
NEW YORK CITY GAY PRIDE 2020 UPDATE
Last week, it was announced that all in-person June events would be canceled as a response to the ongoing health crisis. While we are all saddened that Pride will not take place as expected in 2020, the health and safety of all at our events is our highest priority.
That being said, there has never been a year without a Pride celebration.
Keep an eye out for us this summer. We are planning virtual programming for the last week in June culminating with a special on WABC Channel 7. NYC Pride, in collaboration with our partners at WABC-TV, will air a special broadcast to celebrate pride and the LGBTQIA+ community. Including performances, inspiring speeches, community stories, featured guests, and more; 2020 will be a Pride year to remember!
Stay inside, stay safe, and stay tuned as we continue planning for #pride2020.
LIVESTREAM PREMIERE OF PARAMODERNITIES
Photo: Maria Baranova, Courtesy of New York Live Arts, March 2019.
NETTA YERUSHALMY PRESENTS THE LIVESTREAM PREMIERE OF HER
EPIC WORK PARAMODERNITIES.
THE SIX-PART ENCYCLOPEDIC SERIES DECONSTRUCTS HISTORIC DANCE WORKS BY ALVIN AILEY, GEORGE BALANCHINE, MERCE CUNNINGHAM, BOB FOSSE, MARTHA GRAHAM, AND VASLAV NIJINSKY.
EACH PERFORMANCE IS FOLLOWED BY A LIVE DISCUSSION WITH SPECIAL GUESTS AND AN INTERACTIVE CHAT WITH THE AUDIENCE.
MAY 4-9, 2020 @ 3-4PM DAILY
*Closed-Captioning provided for all performances.*
Trailer linked here.
“Take six classic dances. Chop them up. Then tear open the modern canon, with equal parts love and fury.” – Gia Kourlas, The New York Times
Netta Yerusalmy to present the week-long livestream event of Paramodernities Live, May 4-9, 2020, featuring 2019 performances at New York Live Arts with live “post-show” discussions with special guests and a chat feature for the audience. This event is directed by Jeremy Jacob and produced by Marc Crousillat, Jacob, and Yerushalmy.
The six-part encyclopedic series is a multidisciplinary work that weaves theory and performance into a marathon-style hybrid event. Yerushalmy and a cast of 20 dancers and scholars, ranging in age from 20 to 68, perform deconstructed installments of Vaslav Nijinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps (1913), Martha Graham’s Night Journey (1947), Alvin Ailey’s Revelations (1960), a mix of Merce Cunningham works Rainforest, Sounddance, Points in Space, Beach Birds, and Ocean (1968-1990), dance numbers from the Bob Fosse’s 1969 film Sweet Charity, and a response to George Balanchine’s Agon (1957) that includes none of the original choreography.
Paramodernities boasts a radical and undefinable rethinking of the canon, involving virtually no music. Each section was created as an independent unit with a distinct creative process that features text, read live, by scholars and writers from various fields who place the dances within a larger context. The cast joins Yerushalmy in generating questions about the different paths taken by the modern tradition in dance and beyond. Within each installment, fundamental tenets of modernism are explored, such as sovereignty, spectacle, race, feminism and ableism.
The performances at New York Live Arts theater feature dancers Michael Blake, Gerald Casel, Marc Crousillat, Brittany Engel-Adams, Joyce Edwards, Stanley Gambucci, Taryn Griggs, Magdalena Jarkowiec, Nicholas Leichter, Jeremy Jae Neal, Hsiao-Jou Tang, Megan Williams, Netta Yerushalmy; and scholars/writers Thomas F. DeFrantz, Julia Foulkes, Georgina Kleege, David Kishik, Carol Ockman, Mara Mills, Claudia La Rocco, with lighting by Tim Cryan and costumes by Jarkowiec.
Each livestream performance will feature closed-captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing community.
Livestream events of Paramodernities take place at nettay.com from May 4th to May 9th at 3pm. This event will be live and free. The running time is approximately 1 hour.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
PARAMODERNITIES #2: Trauma, Interdiction, and Agency in ‘The House of Pelvic Truth’
A response to Martha Graham’s Night Journey (1947)
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
PARAMODERNITIES #3: Revelations: The Afterlives of Slavery
A response to Alvin Ailey’s Revelations (1960)
Thursday, May 7, 2020
PARAMODERNITIES #4: An Inter-Body Event
with material from Merce Cunningham’s Rainforest, Sounddance, Points In Space, Beach Birds, and Ocean (1968-1990)
Friday, May 8, 2020
PARAMODERNITIES #5: All that Spectacle: Dance on Stage and Screens
A response to Bob Fosse’s Sweet Charity (1969 film)
Saturday, May 9, 2020
PARAMODERNITIES #6: The Choreography of Rehabilitation: Disability and Race in Balanchine’s Agon
A response to George Balanchine’s Agon (1957)
PARAMODERNITIES is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. PARAMODERNITIES is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund Project, commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow in partnership with New York Live Arts, HMD’s Bridge Project, and NPN. The Creation Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency).
For more information: www.npnweb.org.
ANTI GAY Group Samaritan’s Purse Are Running Tent Hospital
Why is this allowed to go on?
A 68-bed makeshift hospital is expected to open in Central Park on Tuesday in an effort to ease some of the strain on the city’s hospitals that have been bombarded with COVID-19 patients.
The field hospital in New York City is comprised of 14 tents and will receive patients first from Mount Sinai Brooklyn and Mount Sinai Queens. Brooklyn and Queens have been the hardest-hit boroughs in the city’s outbreak, according to data released by the city.
Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian group that regularly takes advantage of humanitarian crises to spread their far-right agenda, has been revealed as the charity behind a tent hospital.
Samaritan’s Purse has specifically been recruiting Christian volunteers to work in their 68-bed respiratory unit. But before being accepted, they’re required to adhere to the group’s statement of faith.
While nine of the 11 statements are theological, the other two are about abortion and LGBTQ people.
Volunteers have to agree that transgender people don’t exist, same-sex marriage is a sin, and gay people should be celibate or risk “damnation and eternal punishment.”
“We believe God’s plan for human sexuality is to be expressed only within the context of marriage, that God created man and woman as unique biological persons made to complete each other,” the ninth item reads. “God instituted monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female.” read more here.
NYC Opens Stonewall House LGBT Senior Housing
Stonewall House in Brooklyn, NY is the city’s first LGBT-welcoming senior housing opened recently. Its population will be roughly 50 per cent LGBT and 50 per cent straight.
Occupying the prominent corner of Myrtle Avenue and St. Edwards Street in Fort Greene, Stonewall House is the largest LGBT-welcoming elder housing development in the country. The 17-story mixed-use building will consist of 124,000 SF containing 145 apartments and a 6,800 SF SAGE community facility space on the ground floor.
The massing of the building, using brick as a design feature, abuts the existing St. Edwards and St. Michael’s church rectory to the north and steps down from the corner of Myrtle and St. Edwards with three setbacks that provide common outdoor roof terraces. A cantilevered canopy marks the entry to the SAGE space off Myrtle Avenue and the residential entry off St. Edwards Street. ISR reconnects the Stonewall House campus and holds the corner, creating a safer and friendlier sidewalk experience.
New York City Subway Explained
NYC subway can be overwhelming at first! I know I avoided it for several years!
New York CURBED ran a great piece this week – A comprehensive guide to the subway’s history, unspoken rules of conduct, and more insider intel.
The subway can also be tricky to navigate if you’re new to NYC, given the sheer size of the system—there are 472 stations throughout the boroughs—and its quirks. But fear not: This primer has everything you need to know, from the history of the subway to how you should behave during a cramped rush-hour commute. If you’re looking for the latest subway news, we’ve got you covered, and scroll to the bottom for an overview of the current situation. Read the full article HERE.
Robert Graham Shoes Fall Apart – from Century 21
I love Robert Graham clothes! I have numerous shirts, and always get so many compliments!
(FYI – Robert Graham represents the American Eclectic lifestyle brand-where craftsmanship, luxury and style intertwine. As a true design house since 2001, we’ve been inspiring fashion by developing unique garment-making techniques and complex textile patterns. Our creative seasonal collections encompass: men’s sportswear, premium denim, footwear, outerwear, loungewear, accessories, and women’s sportswear. With eye-catching mixed fabrics, one-of-a-kind trims and stunning embroideries, Robert Graham embodies luxury at its finest. Each product is unique, character-filled and distinctly Robert Graham–with “knowledge, wisdom, truth” embedded in each garment. CHEERS TO LIVING LIFE COLORFULLY!)
I had never seen Robert Graham shoes before. In late June 2019, I was in NYC at Century 21, and they had some of these colorful summery shoes marked down to $100. How could I refuse! Very eye-catching! Very comfortable. They looked worth $100. I would never pay the $200+ asking price.
I work for a luxury retailer in Chicago. I thought these would be a great addition to my black wardrobe. I keep my dress shoes in my locker at work and they never touch pavement. Only the marble floors of the store.
EVERYONE loved these shoes! So many compliments! I did not wear them right away. However, once I did start wearing them, after about 10-12 days of use, I noticed the “image” started cracking. It’s almost like a film is stretched over the leather perhaps? The leather seems fine, but the print is cracking.
See below….
(On the last big photo, the flash hit the shoe – sorry – but you get the idea)
When I looked online, EVERYONE has these shoes discounted to about $100. Maybe RG knew were defective? or they just did not sell? I emailed Robert Graham US, and they said very little about the shoe, no explanation, except that I should return it to the point of purchase. Which was in New York City. I live in Chicago.
I called Century 21, they will not take anything back if it has been worn. For manufacturer problems, they said contact Robert Graham!
RG said, “unfortunately we cannot issue an exchange since the item was purchased from a third party retailer. Merchandise purchased from other retailers, department stores or specialty stores must be returned or exchanged to the store from which it was originally purchased, and is subject to the return policy of the originating retailer.” And RG offered me a $25 gift card! Nothing on their site is $25!
Basically RG does not stand behind the items they manufacture. Why wouldn’t they take it back? It has nothing to do with the store – the item is defective!
I see on some websites, (Neiman Marcus Last Call, Nordstrom, etc) the shoes are listed as Printed Leather “Driver”. Also sometimes listed as Print Moccasins. To my eye, it is not really “printed leather”. As I said, it appears to be a film stretched over or onto the leather. The leather is not cracking – just the image/film.
I do not have my original box – I am not sure how the shoes were described. But, – definition of driving shoes – Though driving shoes can be worn for an evening out on the town, but if that evening consists an extended walk around the city, consider an alternative. This shoe is ultimately made for hanging out, short walks, and of course, driving. They can wear down more quickly since they’re not made for strenuous use. – I wish I had known that. I am on my feet 8 hours a day, on marble. Looking at them, the rubber pieces on the sole make them look durable. So I assumed I could wear them at work. Indoors.
Driving shoes are basically like slippers. Light wear.
Either way, I wore my shoes 80-90 hours and the damage started. You might wear them a few hours here or there, but you can not stop the damage. Driving shoes or not. The movement of your foot will eventually crack the image.
So buyer beware.
I bought some permanent felt tip markers this week and may just color them!
5-6 Million Expected in NYC for WorldPride
Do you have any idea what 6 million people are going to look and feel like in NYC?? Some people are estimating that number for WorldPride 2019!
Pride in New York City is expected to be particularly massive this year, since it is the first time WorldPride will come to the U.S. and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that first started the annual gay pride march.
Some 6 million visitors are expected to come to New York City for Pride month this June. A variety of events are slated, culminating with the annual LGBTQ Pride march on June 30.
THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO ALL MONTH!
I am guessing it will be very difficult to get around the city, Pride Weekend. There are only so many cabs, ubers and lyfts! – be prepared to do some walking! AND Allow extra time to get places!
SAO PAULO pride is the biggest celebration in the world with 4,000,000
Madrid Worldpride in 2017 drew 3,500,000
NYC normally gets 2,000,000
Chicago gets 1,000,000
So fasten your seat belts, it is going to be a hell of weekend!
LGBT Welcome Center for WorldPride NYC
GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES GRAND OPENING OF WORLDPRIDE WELCOME CENTER IN NEW YORK CITY’S WEST VILLAGE
New Center Will Highlight New York State as a Welcoming Place for the LGBTQ Community and Promote WorldPride Events
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the grand opening of the New York State WorldPride Welcome Center, located at 112 Christopher Street in New York City’s West Village, steps from the Stonewall National Monument. WorldPride, the largest international LGBTQ Pride celebration, is coming to New York this month to coincide with the Stonewall 50 commemorations, marking the first time it has been held in the United States.
“Pride is a special month for the LGBTQ community and for all New Yorkers, and with the Empire State hosting WorldPride this year on the 50th anniversary of Stonewall we have a lot to celebrate and commemorate,” Governor Cuomo said. “From the passage of marriage equality and GENDA to our ongoing fight with the Trump administration over critical protections for transgender individuals, New York has been a national leader in the fight for LGBTQ rights and we will always stand alongside this community that we love so much. As millions of people visit our state this June, the WorldPride Welcome Center will highlight the roots and accomplishments of the LGBTQ rights movement in New York and promote the state as a safe, welcoming destination with no place for hate.”
Created in partnership with NYC Pride/Heritage of Pride and The LGBT Community Center, the New York State WorldPride Welcome Center is located just blocks away from the site of the original Stonewall Inn. On June 28, 1969, LGBTQ community members began spontaneous demonstrations at the Stonewall Inn that lasted for six days and are recognized today as the catalyst for the modern LGBTQ rights movement. The Welcome Center showcases New York’s role in the struggle for equality through a timeline gallery from the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis in the 1950s, to the Stonewall uprising in the 1960s, to Governor Cuomo signing the state’s Marriage Equality Act into law in the 2010s.
The rainbow pride colors are featured prominently throughout the Welcome Center. Visitors can take a picture at the selfie wall, featuring the I LOVE NY LGBT logo. Overhead, the center’s ceiling showcases a creative deconstructed interpretation of the pride flag, and the rainbow colors are also incorporated into the center’s shelves and lighting.
Senator Brad Hoylman, the only openly LGBTQ member of the New York Senate, said, “The first brick was thrown at Stonewall a half century ago, igniting the global movement for LGBTQ human rights. Since then, our community has been fighting for equality—including this year, when we finally assured equal rights for transgender New Yorkers thanks to the State Legislature and Governor Cuomo. I’m thrilled to see the New York WorldPride Welcome Center open today to mark the beginning of this international celebration of progress on LGBTQ human rights and thank Governor Cuomo and Empire State Development for their efforts.”
New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said, “50 years ago, the Stonewall Uprising in Greenwich Village sparked a movement for LGBTQ rights that spread throughout the world, so it’s fitting that this year’s WorldPride is in New York. I’m proud that this welcome center, which is located blocks from the Stonewall Inn and in my Council district, will help visitors for WorldPride navigate Greenwich Village and all the wonders of New York.”
World Pride Opening and Closing Ceremonies NYC
NYC Pride is proud to unveil the location and initial talent line-up of the official Opening Ceremony of WorldPride. The Wednesday, June 26, 2019, 7-10pm Ceremony will be formatted as a benefit concert at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Proceeds from the ticket sales to this historic concert event will support Ali Forney Center, Immigration Equality, and SAGE – three leading organizations in the LGBTQIA+ movement based in New York City.
Prolific entertainer and internationally-recognized humanitarian, Whoopi Goldberg, will host the ceremony, featuring a growing medley of acclaimed speakers and performers. Cyndi Lauper, iconic performer for the LQBTQIA+ community and New Yorkers alike, leads the initial release of the talent line-up.
Cyndi Lauper is a groundbreaking Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning artist with global record sales in excess of 50 million. Her unmistakable voice, influential style, and infectious performances have catapulted her to stardom from her roots in Queens.
Chaka Khan, one of the world’s most gifted and celebrated musicians, will also perform at the WorldPride Opening Ceremony.
DAYA also joins the star-studded lineup for the WorldPride Opening Ceremony benefit concert.Ciara, a Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, producer, model and actress has sold more than 23 million records and 16 million singles worldwide, including chart-topping hits “Goodies,” “Ride,” “Oh,” “1, 2 Step,” “Body Party,” and “I Bet.”
Billy Porter is a Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor, singer, director, composer, and playwright from Pittsburgh, PA. He currently stars as ‘Pray Tell’, in in the FX series “Pose,” for which he has received both a Golden Globe and Critics Choice nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Todrick Hall is a multi-talented singer, rapper, actor, director, choreographer, and YouTube personality who rose to prominence on American Idol.
The Ali Forney Center is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive agency dedicated to LGBTQ homeless youths—assisting nearly 1,800 young people per year through a 24-hour Drop-In Center, which provides over 65,000 meals annually, medical and mental health services through an on-site clinic, and a scattered-site housing program.
SAGE is the world’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older people. Founded in 1978, and headquartered in New York City, SAGE is an organization that offers supportive services and consumer resources to LGBT older people and their caregivers.
Immigration Equality is the nation’s leading LGBTQ immigrant rights organization, representing and advocating for people from around the world fleeing violence, abuse and persecution because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.
June 30, 2019 as NYC Pride welcomes all to a final celebration of pride from 7-10pm in NYC’s iconic Times Square.
The evening will provide a full slate of influential speakers and global musical talents who represent the cultural diversity, tenacity, and grace of the LGBTQIA+ community. One of the renowned artists slated to perform is Grammy-Award winning singer-songwriter, Melissa Etheridge.
Margaret Cho is set to host the occasion in Times Square.
Cho is a Grammy and Emmy Award nominated stand-up comedian, actress, and singer-songwriter. Through her hard work, Margaret has had the opportunity to be heard, to extend her point of view and become regarded as a true pioneer in her field.
Jake Shears and MNEK will also perform at the WorldPride Closing Ceremony.
THE PROM is the joyous Broadway hit that New York Magazine calls “smart and big-hearted” and The New York Times declares a Critic’s Pick! It’s a new musical comedy about big Broadway stars, a small town, and a love that unites them all.
Deborah Cox will perform in Times Square at the WorldPride Closing Ceremony on June 30th!
Deborah Cox possesses one of the most powerful and versatile contemporary voices of our time. The Canadian born star has an impressive list of #1 Billboard hit records, including twelve #1 songs on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Additional talent will be announced in the weeks ahead.
FREE tickets and Paid tickets HERE
**To remain in compliance with the City there will be an extensive bag check and no provided restrooms. Please plan accordingly. **
Prohibited Items:
Weapons of ANY kind, Fireworks/explosives, Illegal Substances, Large or hard-sided coolers, Picnic Baskets, Pets, Glass containers of any kind, Alcohol (alcohol will be sold at the Festival), Instruments, Large backpacks, Laser pointers, Professional still camera equipment (no detachable lenses, no tripods, big zooms, or commercial use rigs), Audio/video recording equipment, Drones, No illegal vending is permitted. No unauthorized/unlicensed vendors allowed, nor Hoverboards.
Permitted Items:
Sunscreen, Hats, Sunglasses, Earplugs, Hilarious GIFs to send in response to your friends’ texts, Non-professional film, and digital cameras, Factory sealed bottles of water (non-glass containers), Phone charging case or phone charger, or Small backpacks or bags
James Bidgood at Museum of Sex

James Bidgood was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1933, at the height of the Depression. From the time of his arrival in New York at 18 years old, he immersed himself in the underground worlds of drag, hustling, and pornography. In the 1950s, Bidgood was a drag queen and set and lighting designer at the legendary New York nightclub Club 82. He attended Parsons School of Design, and went on to design elaborate costumes for society balls, among other jobs that would come to inform his art.
In the 1960s, he turned his attention to “physique photography,” the highly-coded gay pornography of the time, where he found creative freedom, an eager audience, and his own groundbreaking artistic voice. Bidgood was proudly and uncompromisingly “out” during a pre-Stonewall moment when rapid social change around gender roles and sexuality coexisted with widespread hostility and discrimination against homosexuality. His work stands as a crucial link in the history of queer art and cinema, as historically important as it is visually ravishing.
Extraordinarily, almost the entirety of Bidgood’s work was shot in his tiny Hell’s Kitchen tenement. Bidgood literally lived in his sets, and used colored lighting, homemade props, and a variety of clever illusions—from the ingenious use of forced perspective to complex, Rube Goldberg like mechanisms that operated moving sets, fans, or lights—to create impressionistic wonderlands.
The culmination of this work was Pink Narcissus, a dreamily erotic feature-length film depicting the allegorical fantasies of a gay prostitute, and shot almost entirely in the same apartment. Upon its release in 1971, Pink Narcissus was an immediate underground hit, but due to creative disagreements between Bidgood and the film’s producer, Bidgood took his name off the credits, and the film was released anonymously. While rumors flew that the film had been made by a major, presumably closeted Hollywood celebrity, Bidgood remained in obscurity.
Since his rediscovery in the 1990s, Bidgood’s work, made for the worlds of mail-order pornography and midnight cinema, has been exhibited in such prestigious venues as The National Portrait Gallery, The Brooklyn Museum, and the Musée d’Orsay, and is included in vaunted collections such as the Tate Modern, London and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Alongside Bidgood’s remarkable photographs, this exhibition brings together a variety of ephemera from his extraordinary life, from vintage physique magazines, showing the original context of the work, to vintage photos from Bidgood’s time as drag queen Terry Howe at Club 82—all evidence of an extraordinary, productive, and utterly uncompromising life.
‘James Bidgood: Reveries’will be on view through September 8th, 2019.
All images courtesy of The Museum of Sex. Full color images courtesy of ClampArt New York.
MUSEUM OF SEX
233 Fifth Avenue (@ 27th Street)
New York, NY 10016
(212) 689-6337
MUSEUM HOURS:
Sunday thru Thursday 10:30 am to 11pm.
Last entry is 9pm
Friday & Saturday 10:30 am to 12am.
Last entry is 10pm
Last ticket sold 2 hours before closing
WorldPride NYC 2019 Parade Route
NYC Pride, the official host of WorldPride NYC 2019 and Stonewall 50, announces the 2019 LGBTQIA+ Pride March route, as an unprecedented number of people are expected for the events planned for June 2019.
The 2019 Pride March, which commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, will step off at noon on Sunday, June 30th. Starting from 26th Street and 5th Avenue. Some 150,000 marchers will proceed south on 5th Avenue before heading west on 8th Street. After crossing over 6th Avenue, the March will continue on Christopher Street, passing the site designated in 2016 by President Barack Obama as the Stonewall National Monument. It will then turn north on 7th Avenue, passing the NYC AIDS Memorial, before dispersing in Chelsea just north of 23rd Street and 7th Avenue.
“As we prepare for the largest LGBTQIA+ Pride event in history, NYC Pride has worked closely with the NYPD, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office, and Council Speaker Corey Johnson to determine the most efficient and safest route and staging areas possible for the 2019 March,” said Julian Sanjivan, NYC Pride March Director.
“As we commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, it is fitting that we will march down Fifth Avenue, past the Stonewall Inn and through the neighborhoods of Greenwich Village and Chelsea. I want to thank Mayor de Blasio, the NYPD, NYC Pride and all their partners for their hard work in planning WorldPride NYC 2019, a tremendous logistical feat,” said NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
“New York City stands ready to welcome people from around the world to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and the significant role our city played in advancing equality and justice for all,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I commend NYC Pride, the NYPD, and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson for working together with my office to determine a Pride March route that provides for a safe, affirming, and meaningful experience to commemorate this historic milestone for the LGBTQ community.”
“NYC Pride is thrilled to welcome millions of LGBTQIA+ people from around the globe for World Pride as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic Stonewall Uprising,” said Chris Frederick, Executive Director of NYC Pride. “From our Opening Ceremony in Brooklyn to the largest Pride March in history to the Closing Ceremony in iconic Times Square, it is clear that New York will embrace Pride like never before. We welcome everyone to experience a million moments of Pride and make history with us in 2019.”
Heritage of Pride –
Heritage of Pride, Inc. is the volunteer-directed organization behind the official NYC Pride roster of events. Heritage of Pride’s mission is to work toward a future without discrimination where all people have equal rights under the law. We do this by producing LGBTQIA+ Pride events that inspire, educate, commemorate and celebrate our diverse community.
For more information about Heritage of Pride, WorldPride 2019 NYC, and Stonewall 50, including opportunities to volunteer, sponsor, or purchase tickets, visithttp://www.worldpride.org.