QUEER AS GERMAN FOLK Exhibition Opens In Two Days

100 years ago, in 1919, the first democracy in Germany was established with the Weimar Republic, enabling unprecedented advancements in the fight for queer rights in Europe. 50 years ago, in 1969, a brick was thrown at the Stonewall Uprising, launching the modern queer rights movement in the United States and around the world. How has the LGBTQ+ community and its fight - in Germany and Washington, DC alike - evolved ever since? How has 2019 been shaped by the last fifty years of transatlantic rainbow friendship?

On May 23, 2019, join the Goethe-Institut Washington and The DC Center for the LGBT Community in celebrating the opening evening of Queer as German Folk: an innovative punk, activism, and DIY-inspired project that synthesizes local and German narratives on the constant crusade for queer equality and achieving queer civil rights throughout the last half-century.

Here in Washington, the main feature of the Queer as German Folk project is a joint exhibition hosted by the Goethe-Institut Washington and The DC Center for the LGBT Community (May 23 - August 23). These two partners, along with the Schwules Museum Berlin, have collaborated to develop a unique exploratory gallery experience in the form of a remixed, interactive, hands-on deconstructed archive where visitors can browse at their own pace and according to their own interests.

The installation consists of two major elements: the first being a set of materials developed together with Berlin-based curators Birgit Bosold and Carina Klugbauer of the Schwules Museum Berlin, and the second being a set of materials selected by local curator Mary Claire Phillips, who has meticulously sifted through Washington-based archives and other partner resources to find artifacts that best highlight some of the most special facets of the LGBTQ+ community in Washington.

The duality of the installation will display a blend of the queer history in both Germany and the Washington, DC area alike, presenting the parallels and divergences in the fights for equality that continue in each place. Contributors to the local component of the exhibit include The DC Center for the LGBT Community, The Rainbow History Project, Whitman-Walker Health, local photographer Elvert Barnes, and the DC Public Library.

The DC Center for the LGBT Community at 2000 14th St. NW #105 will host a portion of the exhibit, which will be available for viewing beginning on May 23 M-F from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm, with special guided opening tours through the Center available at 5:00 pm and again at 5:30 pm.

Following the opening at the DC Center, a self-guided tour featuring Washington landmarks of special significance to queer history in the city will lead guests to the Goethe-Institut Washington (1990 K St. NW, Ste. 03, 20th St. entrance) at 6:30 pm. There, the opening reception will have light refreshments and a talk with the local curator, Mary Claire Phillips.

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