What did it feel like to be there?:

12 Portraits from the Addresses Project

 March 29, 2024 – June 30, 2024

About the Addresses Project

The Addresses Project founded by artist Gwen Shockey, investigates lesbian and queer space and memory in New York City from the early 1900s to the present day through map-making, oral history interviews, ephemera and portraiture. The purpose of this project is to explore the history of the Gay Rights Movement (and its intersections with Civil Rights and Women’s Rights), shifts in identity building (and shedding) and the sociopolitical conditions of New York City from a lesbian and queer perspective. The mission of the Addresses Project is to offer lesbian and queer-identified individuals a multi-disciplinary platform through which to access a place-based heritage as well as intergenerational community building. https://addressesproject.com/about

Artist and project founder, Gwen Shockey had this to say, “So many of the bars, community centers and sites of queer and lesbian activism that are listed in The Addresses Project were (and still are) located in the East Village. It is a dream to bring this exhibition to City Lore Gallery mere blocks away from the former locations of Meow Mix, Bluestockings, The Pink Pony and more. As Lisa Davis (featured in our exhibition) would say: the East Village belonged to the girl’s honey.”

“The individuals, places, organizations, and events highlighted in this exhibition are community pioneers and community anchors, including our very own beloved board member–folklorist, scholar, and rockstar Dr. Kay Turner! People, place, memory, and creativity—the foundations of City Lore’s work—are the heart, soul, and fabric of this show, and resonate deeply with our core mission,” shared Molly Garfinkel, City Lore Co-Director. She went on to say, “We are so honored to host the stunning portraits, powerful oral histories, and distinctive ephemera that Gwen and Riya have included in What did it feel like to be there?: 12 Portraits from The Addresses Project, and to help amplify and celebrate the voices and contributions of trailblazers whose community organizing, advocacy, and vision have built networks, resources, and places that matter for current and future generations.”

About the Creators – Artists Gwen Shockey and Riya Lerner

Gwen Shockey is a Brooklyn-based multi-disciplinary artist, activist and educator. She teaches drawing and painting and directs the Anne Reid ‘72 Gallery at Princeton Day School in New Jersey. She was a recipient of the 2018–2019 Leslie-Lohman Museum Queer Art Fellowship and was a consultant for the Stonewall 50 exhibition Letting Loose and Fighting Back: LGBTQ Nightlife Before and After Stonewall at the New-York Historical Society.  She is the founder of the Addresses Project, conducting the oral histories and creating the project map. For more information: www.gwenshockey.com

Riya Lerner is a Brooklyn-based photographer and artist currently pursuing her Master of Social Work (2024) from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service. Before attending Fordham, she accumulated over a decade of experience working in museums as a public art curator, focusing on the intersection between art, identity, and social justice. Both her work as an artist and her impending role as a therapist are grounded in underlying principles of empathy, observation, interpretation, and connection. Lerner’s fascination with identity and experiences in the construction of individuals’ narratives plays a significant role in all her works. She is a collaborating artist on the Addresses Project, creating portraits of the featured participants.