| Good morning and happy start of Pride Month to those who celebrate — and we should all be celebrating, as loudly as possible, especially in this moment. For our special Pride series this year, Hyperallergic will be bringing you stories on the queer and LGBTQ+ legacy of New York City, beginning today with a repository of lesbian history right in our own backyard. Staff Writer Rhea Nayyar visits the Lesbian Herstory Archives in Brooklyn, which holds tens of thousands of objects spanning zines, protest ephemera, literature, oral histories, and more.
Not so far from there, in the oldest surviving botanical garden in North America — Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia — Editor-in-Chief Hrag Vartanian attends the debut of Joiri Minaya’s performance series Venus Flytrap, a floral frenzy that subverts the logic of extractivism. The title “suggests a danger that lurks in the shadow of its beauty,” Vartanian writes, “yet in Minaya’s performance, her rendering feels more like a warm embrace.”
In the news, Trump says he’s fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery — the first woman in the role, who championed diversity initiatives. But does the president even have the power to do that?
Lots more below — including a Pride Month-themed art book list to kickstart your summer reading , NYC mayoral candidate Brad Lander’s promises for the arts, and Lori Waxman on Tony Tassett in Chicago. — Valentina Di Liscia, News Editor |
