Website Under Construction
This project is an initiative led by 11 LGBTQ+ downtown NYC artists who have had an indelible impact on New York City’s and the national culture over the past 50+ years, They are Five Lesbian Brothers (5-member collective Moe Angelos, Babs Davy, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey, Lisa Kron), Ain Gordon, Ishmael Houston-Jones, John Kelly, Richard Move, Lola Pashalinski, and Carmelita Tropicana; together they form a multi-faceted perspective on a rich and highly influential era, one that blossomed during what some regard as the last gasp of physical bohemia–which later coincided with the AIDS epidemic that devastated their generation’s collective voice.
Since the project’s inception, the national landscape has forcefully shifted toward a pervasive suppression and erasure of LGBTQ+ culture, intensifying the importance of preserving the work of these artists for future generations.
EVENTS
October 1, 2026
A lobby exhibition of artists’ portraits from the LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project.
September 21, 2026
ADVENTURES IN ARCHIVING: PRESERVING THE WORK OF LGBTQ+ ARTISTS
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Bruno Walter Auditorium
6:00PM
THIS EVENT WILL BE LIVE-STREAMED
Pick Up Performance Co. Director Ain Gordon moderates a conversation with Ishmael Houston-
Jones, John Kelly, and Richard Move about their participation in the LGBTQ+ Artists Archive
Project. They will discuss their current process for creating individual archives and the context for
leaving their career work on permanent record, accessible to future generations. They will also
discuss the overall vision of the LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project led by Co-Directors Linda Chapman
and Alyce Dissette.
April 8 – 11, 2026
THIS USED TO BE GAY/below 14th Street
written & performed by Moe Angeles
directed by Ain Gordon
Dixon Place @ 7:30 PM
Using Google Street View and a bottomless well of wit and memory, Angelo stakes audiences on a tour of an erased neighborhood, and the simultaneous revelry, sex, performance, activism, and loss that occurred there
APRIL 11 was LIVE-STREAMED and can be screened at the link
The performance was followed by an LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project Case Study
session with Moe Angeles and Ain Gordon, and was moderated by Ken Cerniglia.
November 17, 2025
“CASE STUDIES:
ARCHIVING THE LIVING INTERDISCIPLINARY PERFORMING ARTIST”
6:30 - 8:30 PM Pick Up Performance Co. SoHo Studio NYC
Juxtaposing institutional performing arts archives to creating artist-driven archives.
1st of a new roundtable discussion series
EVENT WAS LIVE-STREAMED AND RECORDED
Speaking:
Mia Yoo & Kylie Goetz, La MaMa ETC
John Kelly & Tanisha Jones, LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project
Moderator, Ken Cerniglia, American Theatre Archive Project
Collaborating orgs with the LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project:
ATAP: The American Theatre Archive Project (ATAP) supports theatre makers in
archiving records of their work for the benefit of artists, scholars, patrons, and the
public.
ASTR: The American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) is a U.S.-based
professional organization that fosters scholarship on worldwide theatre and
performance, both historical and contemporary.
LMDA The Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas is a volunteer
member-service organization for the professions of literary management and
dramaturgy, with over 500 members throughout North America and abroad.
July 1, 2025
Published interview
Journal of American Drama &Theatre
Volume 37 Issue 2
The LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project: A Roundtable Conversation by Benjamin Gillespie
This roundtable brings together key voices in the LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project
including co-directors Linda S. Chapman and Alyce Dissette along with Ain Gordon and
Moe Angelos. The discussion offers a behind-the-scenes look at a significant initiative to
preserve the legacies of eleven pioneering LGBTQ+ performance artists including Ain
Gordon, the Five Lesbian Brothers, Lola Pashalinski, Carmelita Tropicana, John Kelly,
Richard Move, and Ishmael Houston-Jones.
JUNE 5, 2025: THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND CREATING PUBLIC ACCESS FOR ARCHIVES - A roundtable collaborative event between the LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project, The Feminist Institute (TFI), and the American LGBTQ+ Museum (ALM). At the PUPC Soho Studio
April 2025: Launch of LOLA PASHALINSKI on the Performing Arts Legacy website of the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly the Actors Fund) https://performingartslegacy.org/pashalinski/
Curated by archivist Vivian Stein & Linda S. Chapman
March 24, 2025: Segal Center Event on NYC Theatre Archive.
Panel includes Project Co-directors Linda S. Chapman & Alyce Dissette
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps6UjxftVR0
February 5 - June, 2024: THE LGBTQ+ ARTISTS ARCHIVE PROJECT – 1st DRAFT
project public launch
BAM Harvey Theatre, Rudin Family Gallery
PROGRAM – BAM exhibit LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project – 1st draft
BAM ARCHIVE
Mar 30, 2024: LA MAMA ETC Coffeehouse Chronicles: #174: Lola Pashalinski
November 16, 2023: Dramatist Guild Event,
Breaking Boundaries The Enduring Legacy of the Five Lesbian Brothers
We are fortunate to have a group of Advisors that are working to realize this complex and ambitious project.
Special thanks to:
Project collaborators: Youth Arts New York - Sandra Parker Archival Fellowship
and BAM with Amy Cassello & Sharon Lehner for the introductory exhibit Feb – June 2024.
Donations of any size will make a difference!
Thank you.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR SUPPORT FROM:
Distracted Globe Foundation
Sara Coffey & David Snyder
Wendy vanden Heuvel
Doug Wright and David Clement
For more information:
Co-directors
Linda Chapman lindanyn@pupcs.org
Alyce Dissette alyce@pupcs.org
and