The Stonewall Re-Memorialization Project

hosted by the New Museum of Contemporary Art

September 26, 2018 — February 3, 2019

For the fifth iteration of Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects, Vargas expands on the complex history of memorializing the Stonewall riots by exploring it as a geographically, demographically, and historically contested site. By inviting an intergenerational group of artists to propose new monuments for the riots, Vargas interrogated history as a singular or fixed narrative. Presenting a 1:17 scaled maquette of Christopher Park, the project explores the notion that the history of Stonewall is generative, perpetually unfolding with space for many histories, memories, or concerns.

The exhibition and resulting collaborative project reflect as part of the New Museum’s Department of Education and Public Engagement’s under Research and Development fellowship program of Fall 2018. The R&D’s theme of Fall 2018 was: GENERATION. Most obviously, the term generation refers to the ways culture and history are handed down over time via affiliation. Yet the word also conjures ways of making, of creating and bringing forth. With both meanings in mind, Vargas looks to Stonewall as a perpetually unfolding site. Rather than construct a neat historical trajectory, his project contends that attempting to narrate a stable history does the past a disservice. Instead, MOTHA concedes that the act of historicizing is inherently biased and often self-serving, and finds new ways to uncover, recast, and recuperate elements of the past.

Contributions by Chris Bogia, Jibz Cameron, Nicki Green, Martine Gutierrez, Sharon Hayes, Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt, Catherine Lord, Devin N. Morris, D’hana Perry, Keijaun Thomas, Geo Wyeth, and Sarah Zapata.

Curated by Johanna Burton, Keith Haring Director and Curator of Education and Public Engagement, and Sara O’Keeffe, Associate Curator, with Kate Wiener, Curatorial Assistant.