Come out with joy!

Join the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art on the eve of the 36th Annual National Coming Out Day, celebrated October 11, for a discussion exploring queer representation and visibility as lasting tools within LGBTQIA+ politics and culture.

Moderated by LLMA board member, writer, and activist Raquel Willis, we bring together Assembly Member and first openly gay member of the New York State Legislature Deborah J. Glick, Lesbian Herstory Archivist and photographer Morgan Gwenwald, poet and performer Pamela Sneed, and actor and comedian Jes Tom for this conversation at the Museum.

This evening highlights coming out, LGBTQIA+ representation, and the impacts of visibility as enduring tools in the efforts to counter exclusion and inequality within the arts, culture, and politics. In the spirit of , and at a time when LGBTQIA+ public health protections become increasingly threatened, we reflect on the implications of representation historically and towards a queer futurity, assessing the present state of culture and queer visibility across gender, race, and class. With speakers working at the intersection of arts, culture, and politics, we reflect on the value and importance of queer visibility this National Coming Out Day.

National Coming Out Day celebrates LGBTQIA+ folks who come out to friends and family, taking place on the anniversary of the 1987 Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. 36 years after The Great March, and with decades of activism for LGBTQIA+ rights, coming out remains a brave, repetitive, and unique experience of activism in every queer journey.

About the Speakers

As a representative of Lower Manhattan for over 30 years, Deborah J. Glick has been a strong advocate for civil rights, reproductive freedom, animals and environmental preservation, the arts, and tenants’ rights. Assemblymember Glick’s legislative victories include passage of the Reproductive Health Act, codifying Roe v. Wade in NYS law; a ban on the harmful practice of conversion therapy, a bill to provide hospital visitation rights for domestic partners, a bill requiring courts to consider the best interest of a companion animal when determining custody of the pet during a divorce proceeding; the renewal of the Loft Law, which brings formerly commercial buildings up to residential code and protects current tenants, many of whom are artists, from eviction; and a bill authorizing New York City to expand a life-saving speed safety camera program. Assemblymember Glick chairs the Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation, and serves on the Ways and Means, Rules, and Governmental Operations Committees.

Morgan Gwenwald is one of a small group of out lesbian photographers who emerged during the early days of the gay rights movement. Her work has been featured in many publications and exhibitions, including Art After Stonewall. Her goal has been to capture the world in which she lives in honest and loving detail. Her move to New York in 1979 started a long-term relationship with the Lesbian Herstory Archives where she still serves as a coordinator.

Pamela Sneed is a poet, performer, visual artist and educator. She is the Tieger Mentor in the Arts at Cornell. She is the author of Funeral Diva (2020), Imagine Being More Afraid of Freedom than Slavery (1998), and Kong and Other Works (2009), as well as the chapbooks Lincoln (2014), Gift (2015), and Sweet Dreams (2018). Her poetry has appeared in 100 Best African American Poems (edited by Nikki Giovanni, 2010), Best Monologues from Best American Short Plays (edited by William Demastes, 2013), and Zoe Leonard’s Transcript of a Rally (2016).

Jes Tom is a stand-up comic, actor, and writer, gleefully providing the trans, queer, Asian American, cantankerous slut perspective that everyone never knew they wanted. Previously, they were a story editor on HBO Max's OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH. Jes can be seen & heard in the Hulu Feature CRUSH, HBO Max’s LOVE LIFE, Adult Swim's TUCA & BERTIE, and on Hannah Gadsby’s GENDER AGENDA, on Netflix. Their writing has been published by Reductress, Shondaland, and Condé Nast’s Them, and they wrote for the Audible/Broadway Video series HOT WHITE HEIST, produced by Alan Cumming. Jes has been featured in , , , , , Vulture’s Comedians You Should and Will Know in 2021, and were selected as a New Face at the 2021 Just For Laughs Festival.

Raquel Willis is an award-winning author, activist, and media strategist dedicated to Black transgender liberation. She has held groundbreaking posts, including director of communications for Ms. Foundation for Women, executive editor of Out Magazine, and national organizer for Transgender Law Center. She co-founded Transgender Week of Visibility and Action and currently serves as an executive producer for iHeartMedia's Outspoken, the president of the Solutions Not Punishments Collaborative’s executive board, and is a WNBA Social Justice Council member. Her debut memoir,, was released in November 2023 via St.Martin’s Press.

ASL interpretation and Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing priority seating will be provided for this program.

Located at 26 Wooster Street, the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art strives to provide a welcoming environment to all visitors. Five external steps lead to our entrance doors: a wheelchair lift is available. All galleries are wheelchair-accessible, and a single-occupancy accessible restroom is located behind the visitor services desk: all restrooms are gender-neutral.

For questions or access requests, please email [email protected] with at least 3 days advance of your visit.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, 26 Wooster Street, New York, United States