PRIDE MUSE PROJECT - June 2020

CLICK THE IMAGES TO TAKE YOU TO EACH MUSE OR FLICK THROUGH

IN AID OF

Marsha P. Johnson Johnson (August 24, 1945 – July 6, 1992) a prominent figure in America’s gay liberation movement in NY in the 60’s-70’s and one of the first ‘drag queens’ (as she identified then) to go to the Stonewall Inn, after they began allowing women and drag queens inside (previously a bar for only gay men).

In 1963 Marsha left home in New Jersey for NYC and began meeting other LGBTQ+ people in the city. Throughout her life, Marsha frequently struggled with mental health and homelessness and claimed she had been arrested over 100 times for sex work and had also been shot at. Marsha was a founding member of NYC’s ‘Gay Liberation Front’ shortly after the Stone Wall uprising and co-founder of ‘STAR’ (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) alongside friend Sylvia Rivera. Funded by house mother’s sex work, ‘STAR’ provided shelter for sex workers, queer trans and non-binary people. In Marsha’s final few years she was an activist for ‘ACT UP’ a group working towards ending the AIDS crisis. Shortly after the 1992 NYC pride parade, Johnson’s body was discovered floating in the Hudson River. Police ruled her death a suicide which many friends and supporters speculate and dispute to this day (watch ‘The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson’ on Netflix).

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Artwork by @livvykfletcher

Artwork by @hireece

Bayard Rustin

Rustin (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) an American leader for civil rights, socialism and gay rights. He was courageous to live as an openly gay man during the fiercely homophobic 1940-60s. His personal philosophy was inspired by combining Quaker pacifism with socialism and the theory of nonviolent protest (popularised by Gandhi). Rustin was at the forefront of the movement to desegregate bus travel in the US and later on, he was the force behind the introduction of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s nonviolent tactics. He went on to become Deputy Director/Chief Organiser of the 1963 March on Washington where Dr. King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Due to criticism over his sexuality, Rustin usually acted as an influential adviser behind the scenes to civil-rights leaders. Rustin did not engage in any gay rights activism until the 1980s where he became a public advocate speaking at events in support of their human rights (seemingly as he did not want this to get in his way of his ultimate goals). In 2013, Barack Obama awarded Rustin a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian honour of the US).

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Derek Jarman Jarman (31 Jan 1942 – 19 Feb 1994) an English film director / stage designer / artist / writer. He is a major influence in queer and underground cinema pushing boundaries with visuals and narratives that gave him some mainstream success. He was outspoken about his homosexuality and his subsequent personal struggle with AIDS. He was a persistent activist for gay rights and in the 80s, he was a leading campaigner against Thatcher’s Clause 28 (which banned the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools). Jarman’s film’s were experimental, often shorts and he became known for shooting on Super 8mm.

His mainstream narrative filmmaking debut was with Sebastiane (1976), about the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian (said to be the first queer icon). This was one of the first British films to feature positive images of gay sexuality. My fav and probably most famous film ‘Jubilee’ (1978) often described as “Britain’s only decent ‘punk’ film”, featured many punk groups/ figures e.g. Adam and the Ants. Although was famously condemned by Vivienne Westwood. By the time he released the film Blue, (1993) Jarman was losing his sight and dying of AIDS-related complications. Blue consists of a single shot of saturated blue colour filling the screen, as background to a soundtrack composed by (Simon Fisher Turner), in which Jarman describes his life and vision. It premiered on Channel 4 and BBC Radio 3 collaborated on a simultaneous broadcast so viewers could enjoy a stereo soundtrack of its audio. His illness prompted him to move to Prospect Cottage in Kent by Dungeness power station where he started his now-famous garden. In 1994, he died of an AIDS-related illness in London.

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Artwork by @calumbayne

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Artwork by @zennieszennie

Ninja (April 12, 1961 – Sep 2, 2006) an American dancer, choreographer and mother of the ‘House of Ninja’ and is known for his appearance in the documentary ‘Paris Is Burning’. He is nicknamed ‘the godfather of voguing’ as he was a significant figure in Harlem’s drag ballroom scene in the 80’s-90’s (the LGBTQ+ subculture in which people “walk” in various categories for trophies/prizes/esteem). The origins of the ballroom culture are so important for its influence on queer culture as a whole because the ballroom made space for POC, trans, femme and non-binary people to be appreciated and recognised. The ballroom culture fused a sense of community where they were otherwise rejected from mainstream society and the cis white gay community of the time. After the great success of the ‘Paris is Burning’ documentary, Ninja went on to have many dance and choreography gigs that lead him to starring in the music video for Malcolm McLaren’s song “Deep in Vogue” in 1989 which brought him mainstream success. A year later Madonna released her number one song “Vogue,” bringing further worldwide attention to the dance style. In the mid 90s, he released his single “Hot”, walked the runway for Jean-Paul Gaultier and performed for various esteemed dance companies. Ninja also danced in two of Janet Jackson’s music videos from her album Rhythm Nation 1814 and regularly appeared on national TV. In his last few years, he opened a modelling agency “EON” (Elements of Ninja), continued to appear on various TV shows such as Jimmy Kimmel and America’s Next Top Model and was even a “walking coach” for Paris Hilton. Ninja died of AIDS-related heart failure in 2006 aged 45. Since his death, he has continued to inspire many artists. Ninja is an important figure in queer culture for his nonconforming and transgressive gender expression as an artist.

Willi Ninja

Audre Lorde

Lorde was born in NYC to Caribbean immigrants. Her mother was of mixed ancestry but could “pass” for ‘Spanish’, this was a source of pride for her mother’s family and Lorde has said that her father was darker than her mother’s family liked. Lorde’s relationship with her mother was challenging as her mother was ‘deeply suspicious’ of people with darker skin than hers (which Lorde’s was). Lorde mentions this difficult relationship in some of her later poetry. Early on in her career, Lorde became an active participant in the gay culture of Greenwich Village. In 1977, Lorde became an associate of the Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) an American nonprofit publisher that works to increase connectivity of the public with women-based media. In the 80’s, she was a founder of the Women’s Coalition of St. Croix, a group dedicated to assisting women survivors of sexual abuse.

She also helped establish Sisterhood in Support of Sisters (SISA) in South Africa to aid black women affected by apartheid / other forms of injustice. Despite success of earlier works, her release of ‘Coal’ (1976) established Lorde as an influential voice in the Black Arts Movement and introduced her to a wider audience. ‘Coal’ unites many of the themes Lorde became known for throughout her career. In 1984, Lorde started a professorship at the Free University of Berlin where she became an influential part of the ‘Afro-German’ movement that addressed the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Instead of fighting systemic issues through violence, Lorde taught that language was a powerful form of resistance and encouraged the women of Germany to ‘speak up’ instead of ‘fight back’. In 1994, ‘The Audre Lorde Project’ was founded in her memory. A Brooklyn-based organisation for LGBTQ+ youth of colour. They concentrate on nonviolent activism around LGBTQ+ issues within communities in NYC such as HIV/AIDS activism, pro-immigrant activism and prison reform.

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Artwork by @marinamels

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Sylvia Rivera Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002) a trans activist prominent in America’s gay liberation movement in NY in the 60’s-70’s and known for participating in the Stone Wall riots. In the 70’s she co-founded ‘STAR’ (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) alongside friend Marsha P. Johnson. They provided shelter for sex workers, drag queens, queer trans and non-conforming people. Through Sylvia’s activism, she highlighted the divide and internal discrimination within the community (specifically towards queer, trans, non-binary and POC). Her contributions to the movement played a big part of instigating these discussions for the first time.

In August 2002, the same year as Sylvia’s death, Dean Spade founded the ‘Sylvia Rivera Law Project’ in her honour, a non-profit legal aid organisation based in NYC to serve low-income trans, intersex and non-binary people of colour.

Artwork by @aissatyley

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Mark Morrisroe

Morrisroe aka Mark Dirt (January 10, 1959 - July 24, 1989) an American multidisciplinary artist (performance, photography and collage). He was influential in the development of the punk scene in Boston in the 70’s and played a part in the growing art scene in New York in the 80’s. Morrisroe’s work is important for showing unapologetic queerness and the often glamorous yet unglamourous life of many in the LGBTQ+ community in the 70s-80s. His work is a good example of showing queer people’s ability to shape their own identity through their own struggles and experiences and exude power. His mother was a drug-addict and Morrisroe left home and began hustling under the name ‘Mark Dirt’ at the age of 15. His mother was a tenant of Albert DeSalvo, who would become known as “the Boston Strangler”, Morrisroe often told people he was DeSalvo’s illegitimate son. When he was 17 years old, a client shot him in the back, leaving him with a bullet lodged next to his spine for the rest of his life. The experience had a great influence on his life and art, which often incorporated images of young prostitutes and X-rays of his injured chest. He attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where he made friends with several soon-to-be-known artists, including Nan Goldin, David Armstrong and his boyfriend at the time Jack Pierson. While studying, he performed as a drag character he created named “Sweet Raspberry”, and co-founded a zine called ‘Dirt Magazine’ distributing it in Boston nightclubs. This zine was of fake news and gossip about celebrities -mostly all from Boston.

Within his photography, Morrisroe developed a technique that he named ‘sandwich prints’ enlargements of double negatives of the same subject mounted on top of one another creating a painterly result. In 1989 Morrisroe died from complications of AIDS aged 30. His fame has increased gradually after his death and now has work in collections such as the Whitney and the MOCA.

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Artwork by @isobelguy

Munroe Bergdorf

Bergdorf (born 11 September 1987) is a British model, activist and public figure. She was the first transgender model for L’Oréal in the UK in 2017 but was dropped within weeks after the brand discovered comments she had made on Facebook they deemed “offensive to white people”. The comments state that all white people were guilty of racial violence and that the white race was “the most violent and oppressive force of nature on Earth”.

While all Bergdorf had done was state the TRUTH, she was labeled “racist against white people” and suffered a lot of racial and transphobic abuse online. Facebook soon removed her comments labeling them as “hate speech”. In 2018, Bergdorf was appointed as an LGBT adviser to the Labour Party, but resigned the following month citing pressure from the media. Bergdorf was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2019 by the University of Brighton and won ‘Change-maker of the Year’ at the 2018 Cosmopolitan Awards. She became an advocate for UN Women UK in 2019 supporting its #DrawALine campaign, aiming to put a stop to female genital mutilation. Bergdorf continues to be an influential and important public figure for the LGBTQ+ community by calling out injustices. She does this using her social media and regularly appearing in topical/political news broadcasts and publications discussing such issues as racism, sexism and transphobia, particularly within the media and institutions.

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Artwork by @princeofdirt

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Goldin (September 12, 1953-) an American photographer. Her work often explores LGBTQ+ bodies, intimacy, the HIV crisis and the opioid epidemic. Her most famous work ‘The Ballad of Sexual Dependency’ (1986), documents the post-Stonewall gay subculture of herself, her family and friends. Goldin was one of the first photographers to capture queer bodies in this way giving an unfronted insight into this (then) underground community. Responding to criticism of her work she was quoted “I’m not crashing; this is my party. This is my family, my history” as well as disputing claims that her work is about “marginalised people”.

Nan Goldin

Artwork by @alicethompzon

Little Richard

Little Richard (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020) an American songwriter and musician and often called the ‘originator’ of Rock and Roll. He was one of the first ‘crossover’ black artists who made success in mainstream culture with artists such as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Cliff Richard covering his music. His unique performance style and artistry is what drove his legacy as an icon today. Despite claims (and retracting claims) publicly regarding his sexuality and personal identity throughout his life, his indeterminate queerness is what I find most interesting about him and what I think made him such a well loved and successful artist -especially for the LGBTQ+ community.

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Artwork by @rendlesrosie / @rosierart

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Artwork by @chlobaines

-inspiration is taken from a set design perspective

Lady Gaga Gaga (March 28, 1986-) American singer, songwriter and actress. She is one of the world’s best-selling music artists of all time (and obviously a queer icon). She is frequently recognised for her philanthropy and social activism, including her work related to mental health awareness and LGBTQ+ rights. In 2011 she founded her organisation the ‘Born This Way Foundation’ aiding youth with mental health struggles, providing awareness and preventing bullying. Gaga has continually supported & handsomely donated to many LGBTQ+ and AIDS charities across the world over the years and frequently uses her platform to call out social injustices and raise political issues with the public. In 2010, she attended the VMA’s accompanied by four gay/lesbian former members of the US Armed Forces who had been unable to serve openly under their military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which banned open homosexuality in the military. Gaga attributes much of her early success as a mainstream artist to her queer fans and queer members of the music and television industries. She has been public and proud of her own sexuality, identity and issues with mental health throughout her career making her a relatable figure for many in the LGBTQ+ community. Many of her songs preach messages of equality and self acceptance (and are all basically gay f***ing anthems) and she puts emphasis on queer references and their origins within her work.

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RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960-) an American drag queen, actor, model, singer and producer. He is probably the most commercially successful drag performer EVER in the world and is most critically acclaimed for producing and hosting reality show ‘Rupaul’s Drag Race’ from 2009-present which has subsequently won 9 Emmy Awards (nominated for 23). Despite Ru sharing many controversial views on female drag performers (cis, trans and non-binary) in recent years as well as recent allegations of Fracking that came out in March both I strongly contest, he is still undeniably one of the most influential members of the LGBTQ+ community alive today. Rupaul is responsible for significantly expanding the drag industry worldwide providing exposure, opportunity and income to thousands of performers around the world. With spin off shows alongside regular Drag Race such as Rupaul’s Drag U, All Stars, Drag Race UK, Thailand and Canada, seasonal and charity specials as well as RuPaul’s Drag con, Ru has kicked off the careers of many of the show’s now-famous contestants and has introduced mainstream audiences to the artform subsequently aiding local drag scenes. Ru’s success began when he moved to New York City in 1987 and soon became a well-loved persona in the cities queer nightlife.

He released his debut single ‘Supermodel’ in 1993 which was an unexpectedly large success achieving international fame. In 1994, he became the face of MAC Cosmetics ‘Viva Glam’, raising money for the Mac AIDS Fund and became the first drag queen to land a major cosmetics campaign.That same year, he landed his own talk show ‘The RuPaul Show’. Along with his co-host Michelle Visage, he welcomed many high-profile guests such as Cher, Lil Kim, and Diana Ross. In recent years, as well as producing his many reality shows Ru has produced several studio albums, collaborated with many other artists and celebrities, raised money for many LGBTQ+ causes and earlier this year, produced and starred in a comedy drama series for Netflix ‘AJ and the Queen’.

RuPaul

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Artwork by @eoinmackay

John Waters Waters ( April 22, 1946-) an American filmmaker, writer and actor.

He is known for his transgressive and low-budget cult films made in the 70’s-80’s and his often starring role, cult icon ‘Divine’ in ‘Pink Flamingos’, Multiple Maniacs’ and ‘Female Trouble’. Since his 1981 film ‘Polyester’, his films have become less controversial and more mainstream. He wrote and directed the 1988 film ‘Hairspray’ which became an international success and turned into a hit Broadway musical which has remained in almost continuous production. From this success, his films began to have bigger budgets such as ‘Cry-Baby’, ‘Serial Mom’ and ‘Pecker’ that still encapsulated his transgressive, kitsch style. His hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, has been Waters’ main residence his whole life and he often highlights the people of Baltimore as being his greatest inspiration (subsequently all of his films are set in Baltimore). As an openly gay man, Waters is an avid supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and is often a topic he discusses in the news media. Waters is an important queer icon because throughout his film career, he has always stayed true to his queer sensibilities within his art and without pandering to heteronormative audiences and structures to reach mainstream. This is a struggle that many LGBTQ+ filmmakers have not been able to do so brazenly.

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Artwork by @meaghan.stewart

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14 Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) an American artist whose pop art / graffiti-like work grew out of the New York City street culture of the 1980s. Haring’s work demonstrates many political and personal influences. Many works include sexual allusions that became social activism to advocate for safe sex and AIDS awareness. In the early 80s Haring established friendships with many fellow rising artists such as Andy Warhol, Madonna, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Grace Jones and Yoko Ono. Haring established the Keith Haring Foundation (1989) to provide funding & imagery to AIDS organisations and children’s programs. The foundation’s goal is to expand his legacy by providing grants and funding to non-profit organisations that educate disadvantaged youths and inform the public about HIV and AIDS. It also shares his work and contains information about his life. The foundation also supports arts and educational institutions by funding exhibitions, educational programs, and publications etc. Haring died on February 16, 1990, of AIDS-related complications. As a celebration of his life, Madonna dedicated the first New York date of her 1990 tour as a benefit concert for Haring’s memory and donated all proceeds from her ticket sales to AIDS charities.

Keith Haring

Artwork by @simsimcheri

Artwork by @redaoconnor

Oscar Wilde Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) an Irish poet and playwright. He is most famous for his plays (such as ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’) his novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ and his sayings/remarks. In the early 1890s he became one of the most popular playwrights in London. Wilde’s writing was innovative for his satire and sharp wit while directly tackling (then) sensitive themes of homoeroticism, unconventional women, blackmail, scandal and social critique. He is also famous for his conviction and jail time for ‘gross indecency/sodomy’ (then relating to homosexual acts).

In the mid 1890’s, Wilde began an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas. Lord Douglas’ father had suspicions and threatened Wilde who then denied it. As gossip began to circle regarding Wilde’s sexuality, Wilde initiated a private prosecution against Lord Douglas’ father for slander. Douglas’ father was arrested but was told he could avoid conviction by proving his accusation on Wilde so he hired private detectives. The private detectives gathered evidence that showed his attendance at gay brothels, intimacy with other men and association with cross-dressers. In 1895 Wilde was convicted of ‘gross indecency’ and sentenced to 2 years’ hard labour. In 2017, Wilde was among 50,000 men who were pardoned for homosexual acts that were no longer considered offences under the Act informally known as the ‘Alan Turing law’.

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16 Velour (born June 25, 1987) an American drag queen and queer artist known for winning the 9th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race (2017). Velour is genderqueer and does not have any preferred pronouns when not in drag (their drag persona is referred to as “she”). Velour is also an illustrator/graphic designer. Her work has appeared in publications such as ‘the Nib’, ‘Comics Workbook Magazine’, ‘QU33R’ and produced the Google Doodle of Marlene Dietrich. She also created a series of comics entitled “Stonewall”, which told the story of the Stonewall riots. She also founded “Velour”, The Drag Magazine in 2014, a biannual publication about drag, alongside her partner. Velour invested her Drag Race prize money back into “NightGowns,” the monthly drag show she had been producing since 2015 in Brooklyn. She has turned NightGowns into one of the most esteemed live drag shows in the world. It has been produced in NY, London, and LA exposing thousands of fans to underrepresented forms of drag and queer performers. This year, the show was adapted into a series for Quibi and Velour served as executive producer/director. Her first solo show, “Smoke and Mirrors”, toured all over the world in 2019 and early 2020 to great acclaim and is scheduled to resume next year once safe from the global pandemic.

Sasha Velour

Self portraits and ‘I GET SO EMOTIONAL BABY’ necklace by @sophiexisabella / @sophiewoodage Photography assistance by @charl0tte.thomas

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Artwork by @katherineeasthill click her profile to see the full zine.

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17 Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) an American writer (novelist, playwright, poet, essayist) and activist involved in Civil Rights and Gay Liberation Movements. His writing often explores themes of racism, sexism, homophobia and class divides in Western societies - specifically, in North America. Baldwin’s novels and plays fictionalise these social issues that were specifically prominent at the time and unfortunately still relevant today. His lead characters were regularly Black American and/or gay or bisexual men. These characters often face internal and external obstacles in their personal and societal acceptance. A good example is Baldwin’s second novel, Giovanni’s Room, written in 1956 -well before the Gay Liberation Movement. He had many successful pieces of work during his lifetime and wrote for publications such as The New Yorker, Time Magazine, ‘Mademoiselle’, Harper’s and Parisian Review and he frequently appeared on television and delivered speeches on college campuses throughout his career discussing these social and political issues. Baldwin moved from New York and lived in France for most of his later life. Much of Baldwin’s writings were heavily overlooked by critics in his lifetime and continue to grow in prominence since his death. He is not only seen as an influential black writer but also as an influential emigrant writer and queer writer particularly because of his numerous experiences outside the US and the impact of these experiences on his life and his writing.

James Baldwin

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Film by @juliacollington_

Barbara Gittings Gittings (July 31, 1932 – February 18, 2007) an American Activist for LGBTQ+ equality. She worked closely with Frank Kameny on the first picket that brought attention to the ban on employment of LGBTQ+ people by the largest employer in the US at the time: the US Government. Her interest in working in activism and particularly lesbian rights resulted in her working for libraries for most of her life. In the 1970s, Gittings was most involved in the American Library Association, particularly its LGBTQ+ sector in order to promote positive literature about homosexuality in libraries. She was a part of the movement to get the American Psychiatric Association to drop homosexuality as a mental illness in 1972.

Her life mission was to tear away the “shroud of invisibility” related to homosexuality, which had long been associated with crime and mental illness. Gittings made an appearance on an American talk show 1971, along with six other lesbians, including Lilli Vincenz and Barbara Love. They were among the first open lesbians to appear on television in the US, and debated stereotypes about gays with the shows host. Gittings is quoted, “Homosexuals today are taking it for granted that their homosexuality is not at all something dreadful – it’s good, it’s right, it’s natural, it’s moral, and this is the way they are going to be!” In 2001, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation honored Gittings by presenting her the first ‘Barbara Gittings Award’, highlighting dedication to activism.

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“Beautifully stained and scented pair of white -fronts� worn/used in part over the last month, in response to the artistry of The Kuchar Brothers and the sociopolitical affect of the grotesque in queer filmmaking.

The Kuchar Brothers

George and Mike Kuchar, twins (August 31, 1942 – present/ George died on September 6, 2011). American underground artists and filmmakers known for their kitsch lo-fi aesthetic. Often their films comment/ parody traditional Hollywood film and social structures in a campy way that went on to inspire other filmmakers such as Andy Warhol and John Waters. Throughout their careers, they produced works both together and apart and retrospectively had works displayed in institutions such as the Tate and the MOMA. George trained as a commercial illustrator and took on many commercial jobs whilst producing and exhibiting 8mm films with his brother in New York’s underground film scene.

After being laid off from a commercial art job George was offered a teaching job in the film department of the San Francisco Art Institute, where he taught from 1971 until early 2011. George Kuchar directed over 200 films and videos in his lifetime (many shorts). As years progressed George received more positive responses for his film work for example in the Critics’ Poll of the 100 best films of the 20th C. (2004) “Hold Me While I’m Naked” was ranked 52nd.

He was also a figurative painter using many of the same themes in paint as he did in video, including kitsch emphasis of strong colour. Mike started making films with his brother from a young age at home in the Bronx and when brother George moved to San Francisco for work, he divided his time between NYC and his brother’s San Francisco apartment until 2007, when he himself moved to San Francisco permanently. Mike is also a painter and his work tends to emphasise the homoerotic side of their camp aesthetic. During the 1980s and 1990s, Mike created comics and illustrations for homoerotic publications including Meatmen, Gay Heartthrobs and Manscape, and continues to draw commissions to this day. In recent years, Mike unveiled two short films, ‘Swan Song’ and ‘Dumped’ at the Vienna International Film Festival in 2009. ‘Swan Song’ features “the pain of a young man tormented by his sensuality who is painted as an animal writhing in pain”. Mike is now teaching in the film program at the San Francisco Art Institute. The Kuchar brothers are important figures in LGBTQ+ culture as their filmmaking is inherently queer, and the heteronormative structures we are all conditioned with from Hollywood are played out in their own transgressive way. The filmmakers have hadseveral documentary films made about them such as “It Came From Kuchar’’(2009) by Jennifer Kroot.

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“The Life of a Pansy isn’t Always that Pretty” (2020) Artwork by @deanjfhoy

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Sir Ian McKellen

Mckellen CBE (25 May 1939-) an English actor and LGBTQ+ rights activist. He achieved worldwide fame for his film roles, including Magneto in the X-Men films, and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. He has accumulated many institutional awards such as 6 Olivier Awards, a Tony Award and a Golden Globe Award for his acting roles. In the 70s and 80s McKellen became a well-known figure in British theatre, performing frequently at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. He then went on to starring in TV films and then increasingly larger roles on the silver screen. He has been openly gay since 1988, and continues to be a champion for LGBTQ+ rights worldwide.

He was awarded ‘Freedom of the City of London’ in October 2014.

McKellen became a prominent activist in fighting Thatcher’s Section 28 (a law that prohibited publications promoting homosexuality) and during a BBC Radio 3 programme he debated the law with the conservative journalist Peregrine Worsthorne and openly declared himself gay. In 1988 Mckellen claimed he visited Michael Howard (then Environment Secretary) to lobby against Section 28, Howard refused to change his stance but asked Mckellen to sign an autograph for his children.McKellen agreed, but wrote, “Fuck off, I’m gay.” He is a co-founder of the charity ‘Stonewall UK’ and a patron of many other LGBTQ+ charities such as the ‘LGBT Foundation’ and ‘FFLAG’ (Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).

“Fanfiction” (2020) by @jonathonkidd_

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Analysing the bromance between Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart through their characters Gandalf (Lord of The Rings) and Professor X (X-Men). Taken from the persona of somebody creating fanfiction to understand their own identity through sexual fantasy.

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Artwork by @con.j.ob

Warhol (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) an American multimedia artist, who was a leading figure in the ‘Pop Art’ Movement. His works generally explore the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture. Much of his work draws from his homosexuality and experience with queer culture. Warhol openly expressed his queer identity in life and art, even when homosexuality was criminalised and suppressed in the US. At the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) NY in 1962, Warhol’s work was criticised for “capitulating” to consumerism. Critics were scandalised by Warhol’s open embrace of consumerist culture and this set a tone for Warhol’s whole artist career. Warhol worked across a variety of mediums (painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, moving image) and made hundreds of films in the mid 1960’s such as ‘Chelsea Girls’ and many ‘screen test’ portraits of Factory visitors. The Factory was Warhol’s NYC studio and the hangout for fellow artists and ‘Warhol Superstars’ a clique of NYC personalities that promoted Warhol during the 60s-70s including ‘Candy Darling’, ‘Edie Sedgwick’, ‘Ingrid Superstar’ and ‘Nico’. These personalities appeared in Warhol’s artworks and accompanied him in his social life, exemplifying his famous assertion, “In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes”. Warhol would simply include them in his art and public life and declare them “superstars”. In the 70’s he became more ‘entrepreneurial’ rounding up his celeb friends for commissioned portraits such as Mick Jagger, Liza Minnelli, John Lennon and Diana Ross.

Andy Warhol

Joan Rivers

Rivers (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014) an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and television host. In 1986 she became the first woman to host a late night network television talk show ‘The Late Show’ and subsequently hosted her own show ‘The Joan Rivers Show’ in the late 80s to early 90s.

Her parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants and she openly embraced this identity in her television career through her comedy and anecdotes.

Rivers was at the battlefront from the very beginning of the HIV/AIDS crisis when many other celebrities turned their eyes.

Throughout her life, she regularly supported many causes regarding suicide prevention and AIDS activism rasing MILLIONS for charities such as the Aids Medical Foundation, the Elton John Aids foundation and God’s Love We Deliver, a charity that provides meals to severely sick people living with HIV/AIDS and who are unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves.

Her confident public persona and sharp sense of humour has fashioned her the title of a queer icon for generations.

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Artwork by @hireece

Ren Hang Ren (March 30, 1987 – February 24, 2017) a Chinese photographer and poet. His work is esteemed for representing sexuality, eroticism and queerness within Chinese communities. He shoots mostly nude portraits and compositions of himself and friends in a country where this kind of representation is commonly censored. For producing his images, Ren was arrested numerous times by the Chinese Government and had his work confiscated. His work has been exhibited in galleries all over the world including 2 of Ai Weiwei’s shows and he shot for major fashion brands and magazines including Gucci and GQ China. Ren Hang was greatly influenced by Chinese and Asian contemporary art and culture and in particular, Japanese photographer and contemporary artist Nobuyoshi Araki. His work is queer, not simply because he (the photographer) is gay or because of any homosexual exchange of the figures in his work; it is because of his indeterminately gendered compositions of bodies that are brought together. Ren suffered from depression. He posted diary entries on his blog titled “My depression” (you can still find them online) recording the internal conflicts he was experiencing. In February 2017, Ren killed himself in Beijing by jumping from the 28th floor of a building, he was 29. In 2018 the first UK exhibition of his work was shown in Liverpool at the ‘Open Eye Gallery’ and in 2019 an exhibition of his work opened in Paris at ‘Maison Européenne de la Photographie’. Frank Ocean also reissued his cult magazine ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ featuring Ren’s work.

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Piece by @jjjjdddddddddddddd⁣ ⁣Camerawork by @bitchezdoingart

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Mykki Blanco Blanco (April 2, 1986-) an American music artist, performance artist, poet and activist. Blanco’s persona began as a teenage girl character for a YouTube video in 2010, but evolved into music and performance art with their music debut EP ‘Mykki Blanco & the Mutant Angels’ in 2012. Their name is inspired by Lil’ Kim’s alter ego ‘Kimmy Blanco’ and their work is heavily inspired by feminist punk and queercore from the 80s and 90’s. Blanco is often branded with the titles ‘a pioneer of queer hip hop’ or ‘gay/queer rap’ that they have begrudgingly accepted. Blanco is not a ‘drag artist’ and freely rejects these sorts of labels put on to their persona and their work. Blanco’s music ofen explores coming of age and self-realisation with queer reinterpretations. The intimate nature of their music creates a warmth/vulnerability that helps to foster a sense of understanding and closeness with their audience. Many of Blanco’s videos also stand alone as pieces of performance art, featuring experimental graphics, special effects and spoken word. Blanco has collaborated on music with many artists throughout their career such as Bjork, Charli XCX, Dorian Electra, Tayana Taylor, Brooke Candy, Shea Couleé, Madonna and also with Kanye West on his scrapped album ‘Yandhi’. In 2015, Blanco revealed on their facebook page that they had been HIV positive since 2011. Blanco initially worried that being HIV positive would be harmful to their career, saying of the decision to go public, “I did it for myself. At a certain point, my real life has to be more important than this career”. Proudly, this statement was met with kindness and support by fans and fellow artists around the world and was not detrimental to Blanco’s continual success.

Blanco is a prominently visible activist for LGBTQI+ rights, civil rights and HIV awareness. They collaborated with ‘amfAR’ (Foundation for AIDS Research) in 2017 with their music video ‘Hideaway’ exploring the effect of HIV stigma on romantic partnerships.

Artwork by @tayler.cain

JUNE

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Leigh Bowery Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer based in London for most of his adult life. He began his career as a club promoter and created his own event ‘Taboo’ that to much success then opened as a club in 1985. He was known for his signature Avant Garde/ Club Kid looks that went on to inspire the likes of Alexander McQueen, John Galiano, Vivienne Westwood, Lady Gaga, David LaChapelle any many queer artists/ drag performers around the world to this day. As a designer he had several collections and shows in London, New York and Tokyo. Bowery met the painter Lucian Freud in his club ‘Taboo’ in 1988 and the two became friends. Bowery later sat for several of Freud’s paintings as a subject. Some of these paintings are considered by critics some of the best pieces of Freud’s work.

Bowery had been HIV positive for 6 years before his death and kept his illness a secret from many he was close to. It is claimed that not even his wife (long term best friend Nicola Bateman who he’d wedded as “performance art”) knew about Bowery’s diagnosis until he was admitted to hospital. Five weeks after admission, Bowery died in hospital of AIDS-related illness on New Years Eve of 1994.

JUNE

25

Artwork by @cashmoneybankzz

Murphy (November 9, 1965- ) an American screenwriter, director, and producer. In my opinion one of the most important figures in television of this generation. Known for shows such as ‘Glee,’ ‘American Horror Story,’ ‘Scream Queens,’ and ‘Pose’.

He has created a huge wave in television storytelling that has brought marginalised people (queer, trans, disabled and POC) to the forefront rejecting the ‘tokenistic’ character profiles so often seen in tv. His characters are complex(often ICONIC) and develop much further than their marginalised identities which MOST television shows still fail to do. ‘Pose’ is a good example, the show made history by having the most trans performers to ever be cast in a single scripted television show. 5 of which were the show’s leads played by Mj Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar and Angelica Ross. Murphy’s screenwriting tends to be seen as ‘risky’ or ‘controversial’ thus opening up conversations that have created space for improvement in the i n d u s t r y .

“Pride for me is a celebration of how fabulous it is being gay and part of the LGBTQ+ community. It's a time where I can get together with my friends and allies and celebrate the rights I now have thanks to the fearless, revolutionary LGBTQ+ community who fought for us back in 1969. I'm a white gay man, and I am well aware of the privelidge I have not only because of the colour of my skin, but the fact I am gay. Gay is something that is so well accepted now, with incredible representation in the media, through shows such as Drag Race which even has the straights gagging. But this acceptance we have is all owed to the black trans women and trans women of colour who fought for our rights to be here. The Stonewall Inn was a bar for Drag Queens and trans women. Most importantly BLACK trans women, as they were discriminated against from even the stereotypical 'macho' mostly-white gay bars. We would be nothing without these women, yet these women are the least supported in the LGBTQ+ community, have the least representation in media (most of the time having their sexuality made a mockery of, something which Disclosure on Netflix highlights so well) and are murdered by insecure men at a disproportionate rate, with no justice served. This is why I have chosen POSE as my muse for Reece's art project. POSE burst onto the screens schooling the world on the New York underground ballroom scene of the 1980s, a world started and carried by black trans women as a place to escape the difficulties of life, express themselves, and form sisterhoods and 'houses'. So it was only apt that I highlighted the 4 main black trans women Blanca, Angel, Elektra and Candy who stole our hearts and continue to educate us on the beauty, struggle, passion, hardship and activism of being black and being trans women. There are some incredible male characters in POSE, but it's time for the gays to step out of the limelight and hand it back to the original queens who gave it to us.” -Joe Wood

Images by @itsjoewood

Ryan Murphy

JUNE

26

Superimposed drawing and photograph by @ellendixxon

Brenda Howard Howard (December 24, 1946 – June 28, 2005) an American bisexual rights activist and feminist. Howard was an important figure in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. She is known as the “Mother of Pride” for her work in coordinating the first ever LGBT Pride march in 1970. She also originated the idea for a week-long series of events around Pride Day which became the foundations of the annual LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations that are now held every June around the world. In addition to being openly bisexual, Howard was openly polyamorous and an advocate of BDSM. She was a militant activist who helped plan and participated in LGBTQ+ rights actions for over 30 years. Howard was an active member of the ‘Gay Liberation Front’ and a chair of the ‘Gay Activists Alliance’s Speakers Bureau’ in the post-Stonewall era. She was an activist for ‘ACT UP’ and ‘Queer Nation’ as well as in the ‘Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights’ which helped guide NYC’s Gay rights law through the City Council in 1986. Howard died of colon cancer in 2005 and ‘The Brenda Howard Memorial Award’ was created in her honour by the Queens Chapter of ‘Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays’ (PFLAG). This was the first award by a major American LGBTQ+ organisation to be named after an openly bisexual person.

JUNE

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Divine Divine (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988) an American actor, singer, and drag queen and often associated and featured in John Waters’ pictures (such as ‘Pink Flamingos’, ‘Multiple Maniacs’ and ‘Female Trouble’). As a character actor, Divine usually performed female roles in both cinema and theatre and continued her drag persona into a television and music career. Waters and Divine became friends in the mid 60’s in Baltimore alongside a group of fellow eccentrics who embraced themselves in Baltimore’s underground counter culture. Water’s would give their friends new nicknames and it was he who named Harris Milstead “Divine”. Divine became a niche celebrity and cult figure, particularly for the LGBTQ+ community. She inspired songs, artworks and fictional characters including the appearance of ‘Ursula’ in Disney’s 1989 film ‘The Little Mermaid’. Due to Divine’s portrayal of ‘Edna Turnblad’ in the original film version of Hairspray, later adaptations have commonly placed male actors in the role of Edna on stage (and by John Travolta in the 2007 musical film). Divine’s persona was garish, truly kitsch and punk. Along with John Waters, she provoked ideas of ‘poor taste’ and revolutionised the way we see fame and ‘the celebrity’ today.

JUNE

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Artwork by @edenclark

Artwork by @h_daxx inspired by and using Beardsley’s poem ‘The Courts of Love’

Aubrey Beardsley Beardsley (21 August 1872 – 16 March 1898) an English illustrator andwriter and was a leading figure in the aesthetic movement (also included Oscar Wilde and James Whistler). He is known for his distinct drawing style in black ink, heavily influenced by traditional Japanese art/woodcuts. His work is often described as erotic and decadent and was very controversial during his lifetime. Despite the brevity of his life/career, Beardsley was very influential in the Art Nouveau movement of illustration and poster designs. Bearsdley co-founded ‘The Yellow Book’ with American writer Henry Harland, a magazine including poetry, short stories, essays, book illustrations and reproductions of paintings and is often regarded as a ‘queer publication’. The yellow covering is said to be inspired by that of erotic publications of the time that used coloured coverings to publicly hide its risque content. His work was self described as ‘grotesque’ often including images of sex, masterbation, gay and lesbian suggestions, rape and cross-dressing, all in the deliberate attempt to provoke an audience and cause debate. Much of his work still appears as contemporary and relevant as art made today. Although Beardsley was associated with queer artists/writers/peers, his sexuality is still speculated. Such rumours include that of an incestuous affair with his elder sister. Beardsley was described as eccentric. He said “I have one aim —the grotesque. If I am not grotesque, I am nothing.” Oscar Wilde said Beardsley had “a face like a silver hatchet, and grass green hair”. Throughout his entire life, Beardsley had recurrent attacks of tuberculosis and subsequently died from this in 1898 at only 25 years old.

JUNE

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Peppermint Peppermint is an American performer, actress, singer, drag queen and activist. She was the first transgender Rupaul’s Drag Race contestant to be publicly ‘out’ before her season was filmed* and in 2018, she was the first trans woman to play a lead broadway role in the musical ‘Head Over Heels’. She became a prominent performer in the New York City nightlife scene in the early 2000’s and soon after began recording and releasing her own music.

Peppermint has publicly stated her struggle being both a drag queen and a trans woman during these times early on in her career stating that she would hide her trans life from her drag queen life and vice versa and that she was advised from close friends that being out as transgender would be detrimental to her drag career. She played a lead role in expanding these discussions in the wider media for the first time when she spoke openly on her season of Drag Race clarifying that you can be both a drag queen and a woman at the same time and that the gender that you are has no relevance to the gender of the character you become once in drag, it is still an illusion a performance. Peppermint continues to be a huge influence in the progression of the LGBTQ+ community sharing her experience and knowledge as an activist and as a voice for underrepresented queer or transgender people of colour. *other trans contestants have came out during their season or after their first appearance on the show.

JUNE

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@hireece

Micro Rainbow is a safe house charity that provides care and shelter for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and refugees who have arrived in the UK. The charity also provides guidance and support for these people to help them start their new life.

Artwork by:

OUT CHECK PLEASE TISTS THE AR HIS ED IN T CREDIT TE A N ND DO BOOK A ER S I A R FUND TO MY .

N A C IF YOU

Livvy Fletcher Reece Higham Calum Bayne Fjolla Zenuni Marina Ashioti Aissa Tyley Isobel Guy Rose Vinnicombe Alice Thompson Rosie Rendles Chloe Baines Eoin Mackay Meaghan Stewart Simone De Villiers Reda Merzoug Sophie Woodage Katherine Easthill Colling Julia Collington Dean Hoy Jonathon Kidd Connor O’Brien Jenna Davies Tayler Cain Lily Banks Joe Wood Ellen Dixon Eden Clark Huda Caglayan

Text by Reece Higham

THIS CONTENT WAS ORIGINALLY PRODUCED AND PUBLISHED IN PRIDE MONTH, JUNE 2020 IN AID OF THE MICRO RAINBOW FOUNDATION.