Something New Presents: Dress Up//Get Down
Something New Presents: Dress up//Get Down, Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Drom, Ave A between 5th and 6th, Manhattan
Hosted by The Lowbrow Society of the Arts + Something New
by Sarah Nakano
Before entering the doors of Something New’s “Dress up //Get down,” I had little to no idea what to expect. I had been told that it was “more than an art show, more than a party,” and “not a fashion show, a show about fashion.” What does that even mean? I don’t know. I guess in my head I pictured some kind of art-music-fashion-queer culture-dance-glitter fusion; people would be running around and things would be flying around in the air above me and there would be models drinking champagne + painting at the same time, etc. etc. (more…)
Our Intern, Sarah, Reports on the Original Plumbing Issue 9 Release Party
Original Plumbing Issue 9 Release Party, Saturday March 24th, 2012
Public Assembly, Brooklyn, New York
Photos and write-up by Sarah Nakano
Unfortunately, there is only a handful of magazines and periodicals out there that focus on transgender culture and/or are written by trans men and women. But GOOD NEWS: photographer Amos Mac and rapper Rocco Kayiatos (Rocco Katastrophe) come bearing “Original Plumbing,” their glossy, informative, and beautifully designed quarterly zine focused on trans male culture. Now on their ninth issue, each issue of Original Plumbing is centered around a different aspect of FTM culture: work, school, family, hair, fashion, health + sex, the bedroom, the environment, and the latest issue: entertainment. (more…)
We Are the Youth’s New Intern Reports on the Victory Prom!
Victory Prom, Friday, March 23rd, 2012
The Center, New York, New York
Photos and write-up by Sarah Nakano
On March 23rd 2012, The New School + The LGBT Center (on 13th Street) partnered to host an event which granted me the opportunity to:
– support the end of world-wide sexual and gendered violence
– re-live the glory of my high school awkwardness
– dance // make uncoordinated, jagged movements in the corner by myself
– eat delicious cookies
– wear jeans to the prom for the second time (I wore jeans + a leather sleeveless jacket to my senior prom, judge me)
We Are the Youth’s New Intern Reports on the Miss Lez Pagaent!
Miss Lez Pageant, March 18th, 2012
The Knitting Factory, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
By Sarah Nakano
On Sunday night, I attended the Miss Lez Pageant at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. I don’t mean to be dramatic but IT WAS THE EPITOME OF PAGEANTRY EXCELLENCE and perhaps the greatest, gayest, glittery-est spectacle to have ever taken place. Ever. The event was hosted by comedian Murray Hill, who, wearing his powder blue suit, “put the ‘KING’ back in fucking funny.” After multiple dramatic introductions, Murray Hill emerged on stage and proceeded to do several laps around the spotlight. He introduced the six contestants who were to compete in the upcoming categories of platform, interview, swimsuit, evening gown, and talent (everyone’s talent ended up being stripping, in one form or another). The contestants were: Miss Que(e)ry (Bambi Galore), Miss Rebel Cupcake (Mary Wanna), Miss Choice Cunts (Rebecca Macabre) (my personal favorite), Miss Hey Queen (Brown Meshugana), Miss Dapper Q (Lea Robinson), and the crowd-pleasing Miss Wildcard (Sophia Urista)! (more…)
In Waiting
In February, half of We Are the Youth (Laurel) had the pleasure of attending the Jacob Burns Film Center screening of In Waiting, a short film created by students in the SWBOCES Incarcerated Youth Program at the Westchester County Jail.
The Jacob Burns Film Center spent six months teaching six inmates how to film and edit digital video and then helped them to produce a narrative film, an adaptation of Israel Horovitz’s play, The Indian Wants The Bronx. The result is compelling and truly inspired. The students maturity in handling issues of masculinity and sexuality and their willingness to explore these issues should be celebrated as well as commended.
Check out In Waiting, above, and let us know what you think.
The project was made possible with support from Westchester County Department of Corrections.
The Work Is Up!
You’ll have to visit The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art to see the full show, but here’s a taste of what’s in store when you do! Be sure to check out our Upcoming Events page for all Leslie-Lohman updates and hope to see you at the reception on April 13!
Leslie-Lohman Show!
We’re thrilled to announce that We Are the Youth will be showing work in the Leslie-Lohman Window Gallery from March 12 until May 12. The reception will be held on April 13, 6-8pm and all updates on the L-L show will be posted on our Upcoming Events page.
The Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Foundation, established in 1990, morphed into the the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in 2011. Its mission is to provide an outlet for art work that is unambiguously gay and which is frequently denied access to mainstream venues. The Foundation’s Leslie-Lohman Gallery mounts exhibitions of work in all media by gay and lesbian artists with an emphasis on subject matter that speaks directly to gay and lesbian sensibilities, including, erotic, political, romantic, and social imagery and providing special support for emerging and underrepresented artists.
Special thanks to Leslie-Lohman and curator, Julia Haas!
Print Giveaway!!
Help us reach 600 Facebook followers this week by sharing our posts or liking We Are the Youth on Facebook and you could win a free 8×10 print of Ryan, an inspiring We Are the Youth participant! Ryan is a New York-based musician, transgender activist and all around rad dude. Read his story here and help spread the word!
Peter
My mom said, “All artists are male and female. To be an artist you have to be psychologically hermaphrodite.” I don’t know if I agree with that. A lot of artists are really boring. I don’t necessarily think everyone who painted a ceramic mug on Etsy is a hermaphrodite.
But I really just want to use myself in my work.When I came to New York for my freshman year of college, I knew I wanted to do drag. In my early performances I played banjo. All the other drag kings were trying to be the cute boy, and I was the creepy uncle. I was more like Pete Seeger than ‘N Sync.
It’s great being in New York, just being able to be in drag and not get questioned. There’s so much freedom in being anonymous. There are times when I want to be passing as a guy, and times where I want to stop people a bit and slow ‘em down.
Q+A with James Howe, Addie on the Inside and The Misfits
We Are the Youth Book Club: An Interview with James Howe, author of Addie on the Inside and The Misfits.
James Howe has written more than 80 young adult novels. But it was The Misfits (2001) and sequels Totally Joe (2005) and Addie on the Inside (2011) that established Howe as an advocate for LGBT youth and other young outsiders. The Misfits characters, an eclectic group of outsiders, celebrated “No Name-Calling Day” at their middle school, which served as inspiration for No Name-Calling Week, an annual event sponsored by The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to open up a dialogue about taunting and bullying. Howe, 65, is currently working on his fourth book in the series, Also Known As Elvis, which is expected to be released in 2013 or 2014.
In honor of No Name-Calling Week, taking place from January 23-27, Howe talked to We Are the Youth about coming out at age 51, writing about middle schoolers, and recent changes in how gay youth are treated in literature.
How did No Name-Calling Week come about?
After I came out, I wanted to get involved with the gay community, and GLSEN looked like a natural fit for me. I began doing some workshops for them, and speaking at their conferences. Then when The Misfits was published, GLSEN picked up on the book and wanted to use it as a vehicle for No Name-Calling Week.
No Name-Calling Week started in 2004. The second year No Name-Calling Week came under attack on a national level, because the book had a gay character, and GLSEN was a sponsor. There was a story on CNN about it, where I was referred to as “openly gay author James Howe” which, when you’ve spent most of your life in the closet, is a pretty cool thing. (more…)
Teen Night, A Success!
Thanks to everyone who came, danced, performed, volunteered, helped with clean up, tabled, installed, and in general, supported We Are the Youth! MC-ed by (ever-charming) We Are the Youth participant, Kaden and with DJ AngelBoi spinning some hot jams, the Brooklyn Museum Teen Night Event was an enormous success! With 150+ teens in attendance, Archie Burnett kicked off the evening with an amazing Vogue tutorial, followed by 2 great performances by Shadow Lover and Julia Weldon.
HIDE/SEEK
As the Brooklyn Museum FREE Teen Night Event for LGBTQ Teens and Allies draws closer (this Thursday, January 12!) we’ve been fielding a lot of questions about the exhibition, HIDE/SEEK, the catalyst for the Teen Night Event. Here’s some information about the groundbreaking show to get you hyped up about attending the Teen Night Event! Hope to see you all this Thursday in the Beaux Arts Court in the Brooklyn Museum!
What is HIDE/SEEK all about?
HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire American Portraiture is the first major museum exhibition to focus on themes of gender and sexuality in modern American portraiture. The exhibition brings together more than one hundred works in a wide range of media, including paintings, photographs, works on paper, film, and installation art. Featuring work by artists such as George Bellows, Marsden Hartley, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jasper Johns, and Andy Warhol, HIDE/SEEK charts the under documented role that sexual identity has played in the making of modern art, and highlights the contributions of gay and lesbian artists to American art. (Brooklyn Museum)
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