June’s Here, It’s Queer: Get Arty With It! John Fleck, 40 Days of Art in WeHo and Queer Biennial
June is Pride month, celebrating LGBTQ pride, culture, achievements, future and history, and there are events throughout the greater Los Angeles are.
Tonight Thursday, June 9, the documentary film John Fleck Is Who You Want Him To Be screens in Los Feliz, at the Los Feliz 3 Theater. The screening is free, please RSVP at the link. It’s a must-see to understand the chilling effect fear, hatred, and ignorance have on the arts. Fleck and three other performance artist were targeted by conservatives during AIDS crisis for their work. Fleck and his fellow artists sued the NEA. The film looks at Fleck career before, during, and after this landmark case, and includes scenes from his award-winning stage shows as well as his performance at Coagula Curatorial during (full disclosure) an exhibition of his art I curated. Fleck is one of the most important artists today–a gifted performer both in his own work and as a character actor in film and television. This free screening is made possible by the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council. 50 seats out of 160 reserved for Los Feliz residents. Please indicate if you’re a Los Feliz resident in the comments.
This June, the city of West Hollywood presents One City One Pride with more than 90 interactive, performing, visual arts, and educational events over the course of 40 days, May 22 – June 30. The Festival is designed to expand the annual celebration of pride with diverse events and programming exploring LGBTQ activism and history at venues throughout West Hollywood. This year’s theme is “Into the Streets,” echoing a rally cry of early LGBTQ rights groups
Out of the closet and into the streets.
June 9 – 26: Hollywood Fringe / One City One Pride: Through a special collaboration with the City of West Hollywood, The Hollywood Fringe Festival – a Hollywood-based, open and uncensored community-derived event – will present LGBTQ themed shows throughout West Hollywood as part of One City One Pride. Shows sponsored through this partnership include: God’s Waiting Room, Life’s A Bitch and So Am I, The Gay Guide to Tinseltown, Sarah G’s Spot: The #1 Ballsy Woman, Snatched…Stories from Down There, Reclaimed Freedom: Fact or Fiction, Skin of Honey/Piel De Miel, and The Collection by Harold Pinter/Anniversary by Rachel Bonds. Dates, times, locations, and ticket prices vary: http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/weho.
June 10, 6PM – 9PM: The opening reception at Gallery 825 for the 9th annual Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA) “Out There” group exhibition, which asks artists to examine West Hollywood’s commitment to the LGBTQ community. The show runs through June 17 (free, open 10AM – 5PM every day except Monday) at 825 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, 90069. http://www.gallery825.com/exhibitions.html
·June 12, 11AM: LA Pride Parade and FATA (From the Archives to the Archives – Queer Signs of the Times 1965 – 2010) One City One Pride art intervention: The LA Pride parade comes back to West Hollywood and runs from Crescent Heights Blvd. to Robertson Blvd. along Santa Monica Blvd. Queer Signs of the Times 1965-2016 will include 75 re-created protest signs that will be taken to the streets in a mock protest rally, depicting historical signs dating as far back as 1965 as part of the City of West Hollywood’s parade contingent and the Queer Biennial II, created and organized by artist Ruben Esparza. The parade is free to attend and kicks off from Crescent Heights at 10:45am.
In downtown Los Angeles, through June 26, Ruben Esparza presents “Queer Biennial II Yooth Loss and Found” at Industry Gallery, 801 E. 7th Street, # 103 (Thurs-Saturday 1-5 and by appointment), and other locations with exhibition/performance/film, through June 26th. This citywide event, featuring international artists with programming both at the gallery and offsite, looks closely at how the AIDS epidemic influenced artists that came of age during the 1980-90s and explores potential bridges or connections to how a new generation of artists reflect on or deflect from this lineage within queer history.
QUEER Biennial is an international survey focusing on current moments in OUT/QUEER/LGBTQ art and culture and will showcase emerging, mid-career, and established artists. Featured work includes installation, film, live performance, and historical documentation.
Other Queer Biennial highlights include:
Ace Hotel, 929 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, Lectures and Dialogues, Performance and Film Projections, June 18.
WeHo Pride parade, SM/La Cienega, “Queer Signs of the Times” rally, June 12th, 11am.
LACA, 2245 E Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. Performances, June 16, and 17th.
Simone Aughterlony, Antonija Livingstone & Hahn Rowe – Supernatural
PAM Residencies, 5810 ½ North Figueroa St., Los Angeles. Artist Residencies June 4, to 26th.
Pieter, 420 West Avenue 33, Los Angeles. Performances: June 9 and 10th.
François Chaignaud – Dumy Moyi Workshop: June 18, and 19th including performance. FauxniqueTom of Finland Foundation, 1421 Lavetta Terrace, Los Angeles. Films, 6 to 11, June 26th.
