
Trailblazers Park
2022 - 2024 Cycle
Trailblazer & Artist Biographies - 2022 to 2024 Cycle
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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
Trailblazers Park℠ Inagural Dedication Event
Dedication Event Photos by Jeff Eason.
Photos by Peter Murdock.