Category Archives: News

Stonewall 50 and NYC Pride

Stonewall

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, which began the morning of June 28, 1969, when New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar on Christopher Street.  Among the working-class patrons who refused to be arrested quietly were the transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson and the gay artist Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt. The confrontation spilled out into the street in protests and violent clashes; the riots continued for days, marking a turning point in the fight for queer civil rights.

A number of  New York City institutions are hosting exhibitions about the Stonewall Uprising.  Art after Stonewall, 1969–1989, is an exhibition across two venues, the Grey Art Gallery and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian ArtStonewall 50 at the New-York Historical Society; and Nobody Promised You Tomorrow: Art 50 Years After Stonewall at the Brooklyn Museum, to list just a few.  Learn more about the Uprising by visiting these and the many other organizations hosting exhibitions and events in NYC.

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, is New York City Pride Month, which culminates this weekend with the celebratory NYC Pride March this Sunday, June 30th, at Noon.  The Queer Liberation March, also on Sunday, steps off at 9:30 a.m., and seeks to be a more somber and inclusive march, casting a critical eye towards corporate pinkwashing.  To learn more about the Queer Liberation March, read its Why We March statement.  Both marches are free to attend and welcoming to all.

Happy Pride!

Happy Birthday, Keith!

Keith Haring 14 years old

Keith Haring would have been 61 years old today had he not succumbed to HIV/AIDS related complications in 1990.  He surely would have been hopeful and optimistic in light of recent findings that have led the media to proclaim the “end of AIDS is in sight.”  However, for many, access to medicine and healthcare remains a major hurdle in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

According to the World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “The right to health for all people means that everyone should have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without suffering financial hardship.  No one should get sick and die just because they are poor, or because they cannot access the health services they need.”

As we continue the fight against HIV/AIDS, it is critical that we understand that healthcare is a human right.

December 1, 2018

Ignorance = Fear, Silence = Death, Act Up poster, 1989
Ignorance = Fear, Silence = Death, Act Up poster, 1989

This year marks the 30thanniversary of World AIDS Day.  World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from AIDS-related illness.  Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day.

There are an estimated 37 million people living with the virus worldwide today.  Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

Today, scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment, there are laws to protect people living with HIV, and we have much more knowledge about the condition.  And, after over 30 years of the HIV pandemic, the world may soon witness the birth of an AIDS-free generation, with new infections in children reduced by more than half globally. 

However, World AIDS Day serves as an important reminder that HIV has not gone away – preventative outreach and lifelong treatment remain vital, and stigma and discrimination are still a reality for many people living with the condition. The need to provide care, raise awareness, fight prejudice, and improve education persists.

During his lifetime Keith Haring worked to raise awareness of the disease.  Before succumbing to AIDS-related illness in 1990, he established the Keith Haring Foundation to help continue the fight against HIV.

To learn more about World AIDS Day visit https://www.worldaidsday.org

And to learn how you can help in the fight towards achieving an AIDS-free generation visit  http://www.pedaids.org

AIDS mural Barcelona
Together We Can Stop AIDS, mural, Barcelona, 1989
AIDS Hotline poster, NYC, 1989
AIDS Hotline poster, NYC, 1989

Keith Haring at Gladstone Gallery

Gladstone Gallery announcement

Gladstone Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by Keith Haring, all created between 1987 and 1989. These exquisite and surprising compositions, some of which are being exhibited for the first time, capture Haring’s invented version of reality that defined his artistic career. Astutely employing popular culture, sexual imagery, and religious iconography, the collages and large-scale paintings on view offer a deeply personal andcritically important narrative, while simultaneously providing rare examples of works created during the last years of Haring’s life.

The exhibition will be on view at Gladstone Gallery, 515 West 24th Street, from November 3, 2018 through December 21, 2018.

Keith Haring: Apocalypse at Pace Prints

Apocalypse

We are excited to announce Apocalypse, an exhibition of limited edition prints highlighting the collaborations between Keith Haring, William Burroughs and Brion Gysin at Pace Prints 521 West 26th Street Gallery.  The exhibition also features archival material from the Haring Foundation archives that documents the background and relationships from which these works were created.

William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, and Keith Haring, Photo by Tseng Kwong Chi, 1985 © Muna Tseng Dance Projects, Inc., New York
William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, and Keith Haring, Photo by Tseng Kwong Chi, 1985 © Muna Tseng Dance Projects, Inc., New York

Pace Prints Apocalypse

An opening reception will be held on Thursday, November 1, from 6-8pm.  The exhibition is on view through December 21, 2018.

Tiona Nekkia McClodden selected as the 2018 – 2019 Keith Haring Fellow in Art and Activism.

Tiona Nekkia McClodden
Photo by: Texas Isaiah, 2018

Congratulations to Tiona Nekkia McClodden, recipient of the 2018 – 2019 Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism at Bard College.

McClodden is an interdisciplinary artist whose work takes a critical look at intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and social commentary.  During her appointment at Bard College McClodden will continue her research of influential black artists working at the height of the AIDS epidemic whose work remains understudied.  The research will lead to a publication on their work.

The Fellowship is made possible through a five year-grant from the Keith Haring Foundation, the Haring Fellowship is an annual award for a scholar, activist, or artist to teach and conduct research at CCS Bard and the Human Rights Project.  McClodden succeeds Galit Eilat who held the Fellowship for 2017-18.  Prior recipients include architects Alessandro Petti and Sandi Hilal, artist and curator Shuddhabrata Sengupta, and artist Jeanne van Heeswijk.

For more information about Tiona Nekkia McClodden, the Center for Curatorial Studies, and the Human Rights Project at Bard College, please see the full CCS Bard announcement here.

Happy Birthday Keith!

AIDS Free GenerationKeith Haring would have been 60 years old today had he not succumbed to AIDS related complications in 1990.  He established the Keith Haring Foundation in 1989 so that he could continue to help the fight against AIDS even after his death.  The Keith Haring Foundation is proud to be partnering with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in their effort to see an AIDS-free generation by 2020.

To learn more about the Elizabeth Glaser AIDS Foundation and to help support their work visit  http://www.pedaids.org

Galit Eilat named 2017 – 2018 Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism at Bard College

Galit Eilat
Courtesy Galit Eilat

Congratulations to Galit Eilat, recipient of the 2017 – 2018 Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism at Bard College.

Eilat, an independent curator, writer, and founding director of the Israeli Center for Digital Art in Holon (2001 – 2010), has been selected as the fourth recipient of the Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism. Made possible through a five year-grant from the Keith Haring Foundation, the Haring Fellowship is an annual award for a scholar, activist, or artist to teach and conduct research at CCS Bard and the Human Rights Project.  Eilat succeeds Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti, of Decolonizing Architecture in Beit Sahour, Palestine, who held the Fellowship for 2016-17.  Prior recipients include Dutch artist Jeanne van Heeswijk, and Delhi-based artist Shuddhabrata Sengupta.

For more information about  Galit Eilat, the Center for Curatorial Studies, and the Human Rights Project at Bard College, please see the full CCS Bard announcement here.

We ♥ John Giorno

Ugo Rondinone: I ♥ John Giorno is a citywide exhibition presenting the work and life of poet, artist, and activist, John Giorno, which opened this week in venues across Manhattan.  Giorno, an iconic figure of New York’s downtown art scene, is perhaps most widely-known for his Dial-a-Poem phone line where anyone could call in and listen to poets, musicians, and activists performing their works.  The Dial-a-Poem line has been reprised for this exhibition and can be reached by calling (641) 793-8122.

While still a student, Keith Haring was heavily influenced by the work of John Giorno and other innovative poets and writers, like William Burroughs and Brion Gysin.  Keith wrote about this inspiration his journals, most notably in a piece he titled “A Chunk Called Poetry,” which can be read on our Tumblr on journal pages 62-67.  Later, Keith would collaborate with many of these artists.  Below is an album cover Keith created for a 1985 record compilation issued by Giorno Poetry Systems titled,  A Diamond Hidden in the Mouth of a Corpse, which included such artists as Sonic Youth, Hüsker Dü, Diamanda Galás, and Coil.

Ugo Rondinone: I ♥ John Giorno is open now and runs through August 6, 2017.  For more information and a list of participating venues visit http://www.ilovejohngiorno.nyc

 

A Diamond Hidden in the Mouth of a Corpse
A Diamond Hidden in the Mouth of a Corpse
Keith Haring, Willliam Burroughs, and John Giorno in Kansas, 1987
Keith Haring, Willliam Burroughs, and John Giorno in Kansas. Photo by Tseng Kwong Chi, 1987 © Muna Tseng Dance Projects, Inc., New York