The life and legacy of Gloria Casarez will be memorialized in the Gayborhood, starting next weekend.
The LGBT and ally community is invited to participate in a Community Paint Day Sept. 18, to work on the mural of Casarez outside of 12th Street Gym. Casarez was the city’s inaugural director of the Office of LGBT Affairs who died of complications from cancer last fall.
The city and Mural Arts Project announced this spring they were joining forces for a mural carrying Casarez’s image, spearheaded by artist Michelle Angela Ortiz.
Two community-paint sessions will be held Sept 18 at the gym, 204 S. 12th St. The 2-3:30 p.m. session is geared toward families and kids, with the general public pitching in from 4:30-6 p.m. The mural will be dedicated in a ceremony at 1 p.m. Oct. 11, during OutFest.
In addition to the 12th Street Gym, MAP and the Mayor’s Office, the project is being supported by Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, William Way LGBT Community, Bread & Roses Community Fund, GALAEI, Leeway Foundation and Philly Pride Presents.
Casarez, the former executive director of GALAEI and co-founder of Philadelphia’s Dyke March, was appointed to the city post in 2008. During her tenure, she launched the now-annual raising of the rainbow flag at City Hall, worked on legislative and policy work and served as liaison between city government and the LGBT community.