GAYLETTER

The Performa 17 Biennial is upon us once again; this year’s event is taking place November 1-19 in various pockets throughout New York City. Best known for her series of black and white photographs Faces and Phases, commissioned artist Zanele Muholi (pictured) explores the intersection of intrapersonal and interpersonal politics for LGBTI people across the globe. As an extension of this ongoing project, Muholi has created a body of work to display in public in conjunction with her #VisualActivism campaign reaching across social media platforms. She aims to unite various groups of queer people of color throughout the city with her work, and it all starts with the opening reception of Muholi’s contribution for Performa 17 set to take place at Yancey Richardson Gallery. Her solo exhibition will display two series, Brave Beauties and Somnyama Ngonyama (“Hail the Dark Lioness”) from November 2-9. According to the gallery, Muholi “uses portraiture as a form of exposure to disrupt the dominant images of black women in the media today and to bear witness to both the brutality and the joy of black, queer, lesbian, and transgendered individuals in South Africa.” Muholi’s focus on long-term activism and community building are central pillars of queer history, and this work is more important now than ever before.  —Gayletter

Of all the museums that I’ve been to in New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art has always been a favorite. The building has great energy. The views from the top floors are fantastic. Even the crowds seem more intelligent and less obnoxious than they do at, say, the Met. If you haven’t ever been to the Whitney, this might be a great opportunity to see it for yourself. No One Exists Alone: Queer Belonging is a tour that explores “gender, sexuality, and LGBTQ perspectives in ‘Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960.’” This is the first of five such tours; there’s one on the last Friday of each month from October to March. This month’s tour will be led by Josh Lubin-Levy, one of the museum’s teaching fellows. Even better, the tour (which is free with museum admission) is during pay-what-you-wish hours at the museum. Who ever said art has to be expensive?  —Connor Atkins

The purpose of this panel is to focus on how to create a safer and more inclusive world for all LGBTQ + youth, one that’s “free of hate.” I can’t think of better reason to do a panel than this. A world free from hate would be glorious. In some ways it’s such a lofty goal it feels almost unattainable. How about we aim for a world with just a little less hate and work from there? A good place to start is by joining this conversation featuring Carmen Carrera (pictured), Jiggly Caliente, Wes Moore, and a Hetrick-Martin Institute Youth Advocate. Hetrick-Martin is the “host agency for the groundbreaking Harvey Milk High School, devoted to serving at-risk youth and founded in 1985 in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education." It’s an amazing school, and safe space for LGBTQ+ teens. The talk starts at 5pm today at VFILES, 12 Mercer St. in SOHO. I’m going to be there, I hope you can make it.   —tom

I don’t know a lot about cognac, but I do know that it’s liquor, which is pretty good place to start with me. I have yet to meet an alcoholic drink I don’t like, well besides port, but that’s only because I had a bad experience as a 15-year-old getting drunk, home alone on the stuff. I spent the evening watching Bill Hicks’ stand up, then I tried to write my own jokes, I thought they were hilarious, but then I was wasted on port. I ended night by vomiting, and was sick for the next 24 hours.... Back to cognac. This Thursday, October 12,  is your chance to get to know cognac, “the spirit that started it all.” For $50 you’ll get one cocktail at each location, along with a custom tote bag and information on how Cognac came to be the backbone of the classics.” The bars you’ll visit are “Amor y Amargo, Boilermaker NYC, Mace, Nitecap, and Pouring Ribbons.” I can attest that Mace is a great East Village bar, so you’ll be in good hands there. It’s getting to that time of year where a nice strong drink is exactly what we all need. But who am I kidding, a nice strong drink is needed all year round, especially in these dark times. So drink up, and learn something. It’s OK to get sloshed when it’s educational. Right?  —Thomas

As I write this, CNN is on and my parents just landed in Vegas. Yes, landed. Prior to Sunday night’s atrocity, they were looking forward to two nights in the city that a survivor of the Las Vegas Massacre called “adult Disneyland.” Blech, so yeah, this news is terrible. Wolf Blitzer just reported that while semi-automatic weapons are legal to sell there, they are illegal to use. How does that make any sense? The demographic that supports and surrounds the debate around the 2nd Amendment is perverse. All of the facts shoved in our face every few months or so, and all of the American civilians that have been buried are more than enough proof that something must change. How many times have we said this? After I spoke a great deal about this with my parents, who are off to have some cute trip through picturesque Arizona, my gays at the office, and reading a shit ton on the internet, I realized: I am a gay against guns. This Thursday, GAG asks you to join them for another meeting to help them plan a rally in direct response to Sunday’s terrorist attack and other ways to motion for better gun legislation. News also broke that the US voted against the UN’s proposed (and passed, thank god) ban on the death penalty for homosexuality. Time to stop saying the shit needs to change and do something about it; it’s time to mobilize.  —Chris Stewart

You probably all heard about the hurricanes that have hit the Caribbean so far this year. Irma and Maria, were probably the meanest ones so far, those bitches have not been very nice to the islands, especially what Maria did to Puerto Rico. The country is not in a good shape and as we all know the Cheeto-faced imbecile in the White House doesn’t really care, it seems that he learned that Puerto Rico is part of the United States just last week. Earlier this week he said “I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico but you’ve thrown our budget a little out of whack...” I mean what a dick? As if Puerto Ricans had any control over this natural disaster. He’s the most insensitive, disgusting man alive. I am stating the obvious, but I just had to let it out. Now let’s focus on something that we can do something about — here’s an event that we should support in any way we can, it’s a hurricane relief and fundraiser taking place at MoMa Ps1. “Continuing our efforts to support Puerto Rican relief initiatives and aid communities that have been affected by hurricanes Irma and Maria, MoMA PS1 is hosting a fundraiser organized in collaboration with MoMA PS1 Director Klaus Biesenbach and NYC City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer.” You must RSVP — click here, there’s a minimum donation of $20, you can pay there or in advance via mariafund.org. “All proceeds will benefit the Hurricane Maria Community Relief & Recovery Fund.” Let’s come together and do what we can to help. If we don’t, no one will!  —Abi