Trailblazers Park
Trailblazers Park℠ to open in the Fire Island Pines Harbor
Featuring an art installation by 17 contemporary artists honoring a diverse group of trailblazing champions of LGBTQ+ rights and equality
Trailblazers Park℠ Dedication Event. Video Credit: Isaac Namdar
Fire Island, NY, July 7, 2022 - FIPPOA/Fire Island Pines Property Owners’ Association is pleased to announce Trailblazers Park℠, a permanent public space in the Fire Island Pines Harbor opening on Saturday, July 16th. The park pays tribute to the diverse legacies of both well-known and underrepresented LGBTQ+ heroes who dedicated their lives to fighting for the ongoing movement for equality and representation (Trailblazers).
The centerpiece of the park is the Pines’ first public drinking fountain conceived by and featuring a mosaic created by artist TM Davy honoring Marsha P. Johnson and fellow trans activist Sylvia Rivera, who played a key role in LGBTQ+ activism in the early 1970s. TM Davy also conceived the flag installation and engaged renowned architect Scott Bromley, whose work includes Whyte Hall Community Center in the Pines, and the legendary Studio 54 nightclub, to execute the park’s open-air design. The landscaping by Liam O’Malley-Davy of Gay Gardens features native species supporting biodiversity and climate resilience. The lighting for the Trailblazer’s Park was designed and fine-tuned by long-time former FIPPOA board member Randy Wilson, who also designed the Pines harbor lighting five years ago.
Trailblazers Park’s inaugural exhibition will feature 16 original satin flags designed by contemporary artists, each honoring the legacy of a Trailblazer. A new group of Trailblazers will be honored with flags every two years.
2022’s inaugural pairings of artists x Trailblazers include:
Carlos Motta x We’wha / Carlos Pisco x Frank Kameny / DonChristian Jones x James Baldwin / Eric Lesh x Bayard Rustin / Hugo Gyrl x Harvey Milk / Joe McShea & Edgar Mosa x Jerry Herman / Joseph Conforti x Supreme Court Plaintiffs / Lyle Ashton Harris x Audre Lorde / Martine Gutierrez x Carmen Vazquez / Nicole Eisenman x Edie Windsor / Raul De Nieves x Invasion Drag Queens / Richard Des Jardin x Larry Kramer / Ryan Ponder McNamara x Pauli Murray / Tiffany Malakooti x Glenn Burke / Victor Jeffreys II. x Barbara Gittings & Kay Lahusen / Wolfgang Tillmans x Kiyoshi Kuromiya
“Understanding our history, including those whose activism and sacrifices have contributed to the ongoing fight for equality, is critical to forging the path forward, especially with the social and political upheaval we are currently experiencing. Many of the Trailblazers we are honoring are individuals whose significant contributions are generally unacknowledged or underappreciated by the broader LGBTQ+ community. Trailblazers Park, in addition to being an inclusive and welcoming addition to the Pines Harbor, will also be educational for Pines residents and visitors for generations to come.” - Doug Harris, Co-Chair, Honoring Trailblazers Task Force
Trailblazers Park is the result of conversations that started in June 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd’s murder. FIPPOA formed the Committee on Black Equality (CoBE) to explore ways in which the Pines could take a stand for racial diversity and trans acceptance in the community. Previously, trans activist and founder of Trans Asylias Iman Le Caire had petitioned FIPPOA to create a space in the Pines Harbor to honor Marsha P. Johnson. CoBE recommended that FIPPOA establishes a permanent park to honor a broad group of Trailblazers, and FIPPOA created the Honoring Trailblazers Task Force - led by co-chairs Doug Harris and Gary Clinton, with Crayton Robey, Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Joe Conforti, and Matthew Tague - to bring that idea to fruition. The honored Trailblazers were nominated by individuals in and outside of the Pines community; and all of the artists chosen to create the flags have a connection to the Pines, either as members of FIPAP / The Fire Island Pines Art Project or residents or alumni of the BOFFO Residency Fire Island program.
Trailblazers Park℠ was completely funded by the charitable arm of FIPPOA/Fire Island Property Owners’ Association, The Pines Foundation, in part with funds raised from the 2021 Pines Party celebration.
“Trailblazers Park℠ represents the Pines Community’s commitment to being a welcoming place. The Pines strives to be an inclusive destination for all, especially our trans brothers and sisters, and people of color. Trailblazers Park is dedicated to future generations as well as continuing to uphold the incredible history of the Pines to make sure that all key players who fought for equality, equity, and liberation are continued to be honored and remembered.” - Henry Robin, President, FIPPOA
Trailblazer & Artist Biographies
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Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera
Artist - TM Davy
Drinking Fountain:
“STAR Fountain” is a mosaic drinking fountain in transcendent celebration of the dawning spirit of Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and their Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries. -
We’wha
Artist - Carlos Motta
Trailblazers Flag:
Detailed portrait drawing of Zuni Native American lhamana We’wha (1849-1896) -
Frank Kameny
Artist - Carlos Pisco
Trailblazers Flag:
My tribute to Frank Kameny, titled The Kameny Way, was created digitally and inspired by his work as an astronomer. The flag represents the discovery by a new generation of one of the most significant figures in the American gay rights movement. -
James Baldwin
Artist - DonChristian Jones
Trailblazers Flag:
The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover. If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.
― James Baldwin -
Bayard Rustin
Artist - Eric Lesh
Trailblazers Flag:
When an individual is protesting society’s refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.
― Bayard Rustin -
Harvey Milk
Artist - Hugo Gyrl
Trailblazers Flag:
Harvey Milk was a multi-faceted character, I tried to depict strong moments of his life in illustrations around him. From his days in the Navy, to his hippie days represented by flowers, to his successful “clean up after your dog” campaign, and finally a deadly Twinkie which according to the law was responsible for the end of his life. -
Jerry Herman
Artists - Edgar Mosa & Joe McShea
Trailblazers Flag:
Joe and Edgar’s piece for Jerry Herman is a digitally modeled image that quietly celebrates the palette with which Jerry created his brilliant music: the twelve notes of the chromatic scale. -
Supreme Court Plaintiffs
Artist - Joseph Conforti
Trailblazers Flag:
I was truly excited to be chosen to create a work of art representing The Supreme Court Plaintiffs who were our brave brothers and sisters who were not afraid to take our collective fights for equality and justice to the highest court in the land. These trailblazers represented people from all genders, races and sexual orientations. I choose to paint the court in the iconic color pink and to place it on ALL the colors of the spectrum, representing all of our collective humanities. Hopefully we can all grasp the intense fights these heroic trailblazers took on, and not forget the obvious battles we still face as LGBTQ+ humans. -
Audre Lorde
Artist - Lyle Ashton Harris
Trailblazers Flag:
Audre Lorde -
Carmen Vazquez
Artist - Martine Gutierrez
Trailblazers Flag:
Carmen was always a visionary. A cultivator of collective liberation––recognizing that all our struggles are intimately connected––we have to work together to create the kind of world we know is possible. Carmen was also a fierce butch known for wearing sharp suits and ties, so made sure to include some style. -
Edie Windsor
Artist - Nicole Eisenman
Trailblazers Flag:
Marriage is a magic word. And it is magic throughout the world. It has to do with our dignity as human beings, to be who we are openly.
― Edie Windsor -
The Invading Drag Queens
Artist - Raul De Nieves
Trailblazers Flag:
Invasion Drag Queens -
Larry Kramer
Artist - Richard Des Jardin
Trailblazers Flag:
In honoring Larry Kramer, I collaged paper and acrylics morphing the colors of the Silence=Death logo, a result of the ACT-UP movement that he spear-headed. -
Pauli Murray
Artist - Ryan Ponder McNamara
Trailblazers Flag:
My first impulse was to use the flag to educate viewers about Pauli's life. When I began researching her, I myself was shocked to realize a figure of such importance to so many diverse movements had escaped my attention and that of my peers. However, it soon became clear that I could not summarize her glorious and storied life in the space of a few square feet. Instead, I read Pauli's poetry and selected a piece that succinctly encapsulated the underlying philosophy of her work. The poem also speaks to Fire Island, a place where generations of people have found access to a higher state of consciousness via joy, in spite of the outside world's attempts to censor this enlightenment. -
Glenn Burke
Artist - Tiffany Malakooti
Trailblazers Flag:
If you do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals to live the life you desire, It will be worth it. I promise! But if you find some excuse to justify quit- ting your journey, you will regret it. This is also a promise!
― Glenn Brandon Burke -
Barbara Gittings & Kay Tobin Lahusen
Artist - Victor Jeffreys II.
Trailblazers Flag:
Equality means more than passing laws. The strug- gle is really won in the hearts and minds of the community, where it really counts.
―Barbara Gittings -
Kiyoshi Kuromiya
Artist - Wolfgang Tillmans
Trailblazers Flag:
Wolfgang Tillmans’s flag contribution honors the work of activist Kiyoshi Kuromiya. The flag shows a page of Kuromiya’s Critical Path AIDS Project publication with the words “Remembering Kiysoshi Kuromiya” printed on them. The simple layout and font is reminiscent of Tillmans’s ‘Truth Study Center’ and ‘Time Mirrored’ installations, in which Tillmans uses various print media to create a visual language that is also concerned with the (re-) distribution of information. Directly pointing towards Kuromiya’s groundbreaking work, Tillmans’s acknowledges the activists legacy in providing access to critical health information amongst the queer communities who’s lives have been severely affected by HIV and AIDS.
Trailblazers Park℠ in the Press
Queer History Paves a New Future for Fire Island Pines, FagRagMag - July 11, 2023
Candy-Inspired Tables, an Archive of NYC Water, and More Design Finds, New York Magazine, Curbed - July 29, 2022
At Trailblazers Park in Fire Island Pines, Queer Icons Get Their Due, W Magazine - July 26, 2022
Trailblazers Park Opens in Fire Island Pines Harbor, Cool Hunting - July 20, 2022
WATCH - Fire Island Pines Harbor dedicates space to those who fought for LGBTQ+ rights, Newsday - July 16, 2022
Ribbon Cutting & Opening Reception of Trailblazers Park, DO NYC - July 16, 2022
Fire Island Pines Dedicates Park For LGBTQ+ Trailblazers, Out Traveler - July 15, 2022
The Approval Matrix, New York Magazine - July 15, 2022
For all Trailblazers Park℠ press inquiries please email:
Alexander Galán | ag@vidoun.com
Sophie Gubernick | sg@vidoun.com
Dedication Event Photos by Jeff Eason.
Photos by Peter Murdock.