March 30, 2012
Queer Museum Announces Spring Pop-Up in Philadelphia
Mark Thompson READ TIME: 2 MIN.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Pop-Up Museum of Queer History announced Pop-Up Philadelphia, a one-month exhibition co-sponsored by The William Way Community Center. The exhibit of approximately twenty works brings to light the rich, long, and largely unknown histories of queer communities both in Philadelphia and around the world.
Exhibits include:
� Documentation of drag in Philadelphia Mummers' Parades dating back to the 1880s;
� A sculptural memorial for queer communities in Uganda threatened by a proposed law that makes queerness punishable by death; and
� A video history project about the lives of black lesbian elders.
The works use divergent media, including fiber arts, video montage and installation. Some of the exhibits have toured the country or been displayed in institutions such as the Museum of Art & Design in New York City; others will be shown publicly for the first time.
A number of related events will be held in conjunction with Pop-Up Philadelphia, including a tea dance organized by the Black LGBT Archivists Society of Philadelphia, a Queering the Curriculum workshop for K-12 teachers by Pop-Up Museum Board Member Dr. Rachel Mattson, and a lecture on the queerness and obscenity by author and academic Whitney Strub.
The Pop-Up Museum of Queer History is a grassroots project that explores queer history through a community-based model of shared education for liberation. Over the last year, thousands have seen our work across the country and online.
Pop-Up Philadelphia will run from April 21 - May 19, and will be housed on the ground floor of the William Way Community Center, located at 1315 Spruce St. The show will be open to the public at almost all times the Center is open, though visitors should call ahead. The William Way Community Center is fully accessible. Visit www.waygay.org for more information.
Artist List: Bren Ahearn, Rahne Alexander, The Black LGBT Archivists Society of Philadelphia, Peter Cramer & Jack Waters, Che Gossett, Morgan Hart, Kevin Jones, Jim Kelly-Evans, Zachary Lifton, Tiona McClodden, Sarah Nicolazzo, Emmett Ramstad, Bob Skiba, Whitney Strub, Tony Whitfield, Adelaide Windsome, Rich Wilson, Rachel Wood
To learn more or donate to the project, please visit www.queermuseum.com or www.facebook.com/QMuseum
A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.
