Queer history, including that of Philadelphia, will be explored this month through a vast presentation of artistic endeavors that range from a puppet show to a video montage to an exhibit of rare historical documents.
“Pop-Up Philadelphia” will be held at William Way LGBT Community Center from April 21-May 19, with an opening reception from 7-10 p.m. the first night of the show at the center, 1315 Spruce St.
The project is an effort of the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History — which creates “pop-up” exhibitions in locales throughout the country to showcase works examining LGBT history.
The museum got its start in late 2010 in the Brooklyn loft of founding director Hugh Ryan.
“There was a group here organizing a week of queer events in people’s houses in the city, and this was right after the flap at the Smithsonian with the ‘Hide-Seek’ exhibit [an AIDS display that saw sharp criticism by some religious leaders],” he said. “So my roommates and I were really excited to be able to provide a space for an exhibit about queer art history. It was supposed to be a one-night show with about 30 exhibits and it ended up that hundreds of people showed up. The cops actually shut it down and issued me a summons. But we saw there was a clear demand and desire for this.”
A month later, Ryan and his associates regrouped and created the museum, which has since staged shows in Brooklyn, Soho and Indiana.
The Indiana show was a challenge, Ryan said, as organizers weren’t as familiar with the area, so they decided to look for a location closer to New York.
“We wanted to take this on the national level and were getting requests from around the country, but we wanted somewhere a little closer to home that had a really active queer scene. And Philadelphia was the perfect place,” he said. “There are so many people doing interesting projects already in Philadelphia. Most of the exhibits are by Philadelphia-based artists or about Philadelphia queer history. And William Way Community Center was incredibly generous in offering the space and working to make this a success.”
About 60 submissions came in, and a selection committee that included previous Pop-Up artists, Pop-Up volunteers and board members and a representative of William Way evaluated the projects on the quality of the historical information put forth, the design and look of the proposed work, and the balance in the overall show.
Ultimately, 18 pieces were selected that represent a wide spectrum of artistic materials and topics. Some works are being presented for the first time while others have been displayed nationally, such as one that was shown at New York City’s Museum of Art & Design.
“It’s a very diverse show, which is really exciting,” Ryan said.
One piece includes documents from the mid-1700s about a person arrested for “wearing clothes of the wrong gender,” while another explores Philadelphia’s queer black male social scene in the early 1900s.
The wide range in the exhibits enhances its universal appeal, Ryan said.
“We try to make the show like a museum so there’s really something for everyone,” he said. “The show’s targeted at all kinds of people — queer, straight, young, old, people of all races, genders, sexual identities. I think it’s something that everyone can find something that’ll catch their eye.”
Pop-Up does have a particular focus on youth and educators, and will present “Queering the Curriculum,” a workshop designed to give K-12 teachers assistance in bringing LGBT topics into their classrooms.
The show’s run will also feature a May 9 discussion led by Dr. Whitney Strub of Rutgers University about obscenity laws and their impact on LGBT history.
Ryan said he’s eager for the Philadelphia community to see the show, as it is a true product of community collaborations.
“We’re really a community-based organization,” he said. “We worked with a really strong and diverse community to build this show, including all of the people at William Way and the artists involved in this from Philadelphia and from around the world. It’s so exciting to see all of these different people come together and work together. That’s where our strength is.”
For more information, visit www.queermuseum.com.