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This project is an initiative led by 11 LGBTQ+ downtown NYC artists who have had an indelible impact on New York City’s and the national culture over the past 50+ years, They are Five Lesbian Brothers (5-member collective Moe Angelos, Babs Davy, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey, Lisa Kron), Ain Gordon, Ishmael Houston-Jones, John Kelly, Richard Move, Lola Pashalinski, and Carmelita Tropicana; together they form a multi-faceted perspective on a rich and highly influential era, one that blossomed during what some regard as the last gasp of physical bohemia–which later coincided with the AIDS epidemic that devastated their generation’s collective voice.
Since the project’s inception, the national landscape has forcefully shifted toward a pervasive suppression and erasure of LGBTQ+ culture, intensifying the importance of preserving the work of these artists for future generations.
July 1, 2025
Published interview
Journal of American Drama & Theatre
Volume 37 Issue 2
The LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project: A Roundtable Conversation by Benjamin Gillespie
This roundtable brings together key voices in the LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project including co-directors Linda S. Chapman and Alyce Dissette along with Ain Gordon and Moe Angelos. The discussion offers a behind-the-scenes look at a significant initiative to preserve the legacies of eleven pioneering LGBTQ+ performance artists including Ain Gordon, the Five Lesbian Brothers, Lola Pashalinski, Carmelita Tropicana, John Kelly, Richard Move, and Ishmael Houston-Jones.
COMING EVENTS
November 17, 2025
“CASE STUDIES:
ARCHIVING THE LIVING INTERDISCIPLINARY PERFORMING ARTIST”
7:00 - 8:30 PM Pick Up Performance Co. SoHo Studio NYC
Juxtaposing institutional performing arts archives to creating artist-driven archives.
1st of a new roundtable discussion series
Speaking:
Mia Yoo & Kylie Goetz, La MaMa ETC
John Kelly & Tanisha Jones, LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project
Moderator, Ken Cerniglia, American Theatre Archive Project
Collaborating orgs with the LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project:
ATAP: The American Theatre Archive Project (ATAP) supports theatre makers in
archiving records of their work for the benefit of artists, scholars, patrons, and the
public.
ASTR: The American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) is a U.S.-based
professional organization that fosters scholarship on worldwide theatre and
performance, both historical and contemporary.
(LMDA) The Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas is a volunteer
member-service organization for the professions of literary management and
dramaturgy, with over 500 members throughout North America and abroad.
and 2026 events – more info soon!
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2nd in a series of roundtable/collaborative events organized by the LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project, The Feminist Institute (TFI), and the American LGBTQ+ Museum (ALM). At the PUPC Soho Studio
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LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project Artists in a panel discussion at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Bruno Walter Auditorium. Moderated by Linda Murray, Anne H. Bass Curator, Jerome Robbins Dance Division Associate Director, Collections & Research, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts with artists Ishmael Houston-Jones, John Kelly, Richard Move
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"THIS USED TO BE GAY"
A historic and personal tour by writer, director, and performer Moe Angelos of The Five Lesbian Brothers and The Builders Association traces a daisy chain in Lower Manhattan that leads from the twilight world of shame associated with homosexuality to our current, married-with-children, legit queer lifestyle, examining places past and present that were once gay. Performances at Dixon Place, Spring 2026
PAST EVENTS
JUNE 5, 2025: THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND CREATING PUBLIC ACCESS FOR ARCHIVES - A roundtable collaborative event between the LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project, The Feminist Institute (TFI), and the American LGBTQ+ Museum (ALM). At the PUPC Soho Studio
May 17 &18, 2025: Work-in-progress performances of “THIS USED TO BE GAY”. History nerd Moe Angelos’ "sitting tour" of former queer sites in zip code 10012, the East and West Villages, etc. where there was a whole lot of gay in the past, a scroll down memory lane. Written & performed by Moe Angeles at the PUPC SoHo Studio
April 2025: Launch of LOLA PASHALINSKI on the Performing Arts Legacy website of the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly the Actors Fund) https://performingartslegacy.org/pashalinski/
Curated by archivist Vivian Stein & Linda S. Chapman
March 24, 2025: Segal Center Event on NYC Theatre Archive.
Panel includes Project Co-directors Linda S. Chapman & Alyce Dissette
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps6UjxftVR0
February - June, 2024: project public launch Brooklyn Academy of Music
THE LGBTQ+ ARTISTS ARCHIVE PROJECT – 1st DRAFT
https://levyarchive.bam.org/Detail/occurrences/31983
BAM Harvey Theatre, Rudin Family Gallery
Mar 30, 2024: LA MAMA ETC Coffeehouse Chronicles: #174: Lola Pashalinski
November 16, 2023: Dramatist Guild Event,
Breaking Boundaries The Enduring Legacy of the Five Lesbian Brothers
We are fortunate to have a group of Advisors that are working to realize this complex and ambitious project.
Special thanks to:
Project collaborators: Youth Arts New York - Sandra Parker Archival Fellowship
and BAM with Amy Cassello & Sharon Lehner for the introductory exhibit Feb – June 2024.
Donations of any size will make a difference!
Thank you.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR SUPPORT FROM:


Distracted Globe Foundation
Sara Coffey & David Snyder
Wendy vanden Heuvel
Doug Wright and David Clement
For more information:
Co-directors
Linda Chapman lindanyn@pupcs.org
Alyce Dissette alyce@pupcs.org
and