Touching History: Stonewall 50

Touching History commemorates the 50th anniversary of New York’s Stonewall riots, a landmark uprising against police harassment and social injustice that sparked the gay liberation movement and the modern struggle for LGBTQ civil rights.

Bringing together an intergenerational group of eight contemporary artists working in collage, drawing, and photography, this exhibition explores queer kinship, care, and community through the immediacy and intimacy of touch.

The ease and freedom with which many queer people today show affection is one aspect of the numerous social changes provoked by LGBTQ activists of the 1970s. For many, this is a part of daily life that we now take for granted. The artists in Touching History mine historical materials and collaborate with queer elders to examine the continued relevance of activist legacies and community organizing. By focusing on the powerful, affirming, and unruly sensation of touch, these artists honor the struggles and tenacity of the queer community.

This exhibition includes artist Marcela Pardo Ariza, Stephen Barker, Robert Andy Coombs, Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre, Jonathan Molina-Garcia, Kang Seung Lee, and Joey Terrill.

Touching History: Stonewall 50 is organized by David Evans Frantz, Associate Curator.

Exhibition Season Sponsors: David Kaplan & Glenn Ostergaard, Brautigam-Kaplan Foundation, the Herman & Faye Sarkowsky Charitable Foundation, the Mary Ingebrand-Pohlad Foundation, and Yvonne & Steve Maloney.

Image credit:

Banner: Marcela Pardo Ariza, Randy Andy, Dollface, Tania, Lu, Louis, Kat, Cait, Alex, et al. (1983~, 1975~, 1992~, 2018), 2018, mounted Inkjet print, ash artist frame, rosy blush paint, 30 x 66 ¾ inches, edition of 3, Courtesy of the artist

Installation photos: Lance Gerber