Best Works Representing the Spirit of LGBTQ Community, Creativity and Charity Will Be Showcased
In A Public Exhibition June 21 – 24 During Pride Week at One World Observatory and
Featured in August/September Issue of Metrosource and on Metrosource.com
Includes 10 Dynamic Painters, Photographers & Multimedia Artists Ages 20 – 57, from New York to California
Davler Media Group’s Metrosource, the largest circulation LGBTQ publication serving New York City and Los Angeles, and second largest nationally, and One World Observatory, at the top of One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, today announced the ten finalists for “Reclaiming My Pride,” a national art contest designed to showcase the spirit of community, creativity, and charity in America’s LGBTQ populace, culminating during Pride Week in New York City.
The works and artists selected represent an impressive range in medium, subject matter and demographics, with artists from Brooklyn to San Diego, ages 20 – 57, selected from more than 100 entries judged by notables from the worlds of art, entertainment and LGBTQ advocacy.
The ten works will be showcased at a public exhibition, titled “Reclaiming My Pride,” held at Aspire at One World Observatory during Pride Week, from June 21 -24, One World Trade Center, 285 Fulton Street; Hours: 9 am – 9 pm. Cost is $2 in addition to the Standard or Priority Reserved admission fees. $1 from every ticket sold to the exhibition will be donated to The Ali Forney Center. One Grand Prize winner will receive hotel and air travel for two to the private opening event on June 20th, along with two VIP tickets to opening night, and a cash prize of $1,000. The Grand Prize honoree will be announced at a pre-opening event at One World Observatory on June 20, sponsored by Red Bull. The ten artists and their works will also be featured in the magazine’s August/September issue, along with its online and social media platforms. The event will benefit The Ali Forney Center, an organization that protects LGBTQ youth from homelessness and empowers them with the tools to live independently.
Images, biographies and creative statements from the 10 finalists can be found at Metrosource.com/reclaimingmypride They include: Luis Martin, Brooklyn, NY, 45, “The Art Engineer”; James Falciano, Brooklyn, NY, 28, “Untitled”; David Jester, San Diego, CA, 57, “Home”; Tom Cullis, Newport Beach, CA, 54, “Abandoned”; Paul Anagnostopoulus, Merrick, NY, 27 “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”; Logan Benedict, Middletown, DE, 20, “Rotted Ribcage”; Bridgette Victoria Cruz, Queens, NY, 26, “Para Mi Gente”; Charles Caldwell, Rahway, NJ, 53, “Speak Up and Reclaim Your Pride” and Abby Taylor, Brooklyn, NY, 24, “in/visibility.”
The competition was open to all artists in the 50 states whose work reflects the spirit of community and acceptance represented by LGBTQ pride, which was ignited by the 1969 Stonewall Riots, a cornerstone event in the movement towards equality. Entries were judged by a panel of esteemed artists, curators, and notables in creative pursuits, such as film and the Broadway stage. It included contemporary painters Scooter LaForge and Elisabeth Condon, pioneering 3D video artist Ali Hossaini, mixed media artist Fawn Rogers, gallerist/curator Christopher Pusey and Scott Frankel, Tony-nominated composer of Broadway musicals including WAR PAINT and GREY GARDENS, Laval Bryant of the Brooklyn Museum, along with Davler staff.
One World Observatory is donating $1 of the proceeds from entry during the exhibition to The Ali Forney Center, a New York City-based LGBTQ charity. The artists will also have the option of making a donation from the sales of their works in support of the Center.
Metrosource will devote a feature in its August/September issue to the works and the backstories of these talented artists. Its online destination Metrosource.com and social media platforms will feature video interviews with each of the exhibited artists along with digital images of their works.
