The Whitney to Launch Free Pride Month Events to Celebrate LGBTQ+ Community

The Whitney Museum of American Art is initiating a month-long celebration of free public events celebrating LGBTQ+ inclusivity in observance of Pride Month.

Pride at the Whitney is hosting numerous events, including Legends of Drag, Queer Teen Night and Radical Joy Ball, all part of the Museum’s “ongoing commitment” to support all LGBTQ+ artists and community members in an “inclusive space” to gather and enjoy artistic expression, according to a press release from the Whitney.

The programming kicks off May 31, with free performances from the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, as a “really fun building-wide activation,” said Dyeemah Simmons, the Museum’s director of learning and social impact.

Simmons said the events are about “making sure LGBTQ+ communities know they are supported and celebrated at the Whitney.” The Whitney looks to integrate all forms of art into the celebration, including drawing, painting and film.

The Museum’s education team will also be conducting Queer History walks in the Meatpacking District every Friday and Sunday in June to encourage Whitney visitors to connect with the “changing landscape of the neighborhood” even outside the space of physical art.

“Just being proud of your identity in general and how you can use art to express that,” inspired the Community Pride Mural, Simmons said, which invites the LGBTQ+ community and allies to create their own artwork that reflects their personal experiences with Pride.

“New York City is so diverse, and we want to reflect the diversity of New York City,” Simmons said. “We are expanding so we can reach different communities.”

Simmons’ role at the Museum is to oversee families and adolescents working with community organizations so the Whitney can build responsive and authentic programming made in collaboration with that community.

“Queer artists, queer staff, queer community has always been a part of [the Whitney],” she said. “We’re really excited to celebrate LGBTQ+ communities during Pride month and beyond.”

Pride at the Whitney begins at 2:00 p.m. May 31, with “Our Joy Is a Protest: A Choral Installation of Song” at the Whitney on 99 Gansevoort St. The Museum is free to those under 18 and on all Fridays from 5:00 p.m.. to 10:00 p.m.