Second Tuesday Presents: “And the Category is…Inside New York’s Vogue, House, and Ballroom Community” with Ricky Tucker and Luna Ortiz
Second Tuesday Presents:
“And the Category is…Inside New York’s Vogue, House, and Ballroom Community” with Ricky Tucker and Luna Luis Ortiz
What is Ballroom? Not a song, a documentary, a catchphrase, a TV show, or an individual pop star. It is an underground subculture founded over a century ago by LGBTQ African American and Latino men and women of Harlem. Arts-based and intersectional, it transcends identity, acting as a fearless response to the systemic marginalization of minority populations. Please join us for this conversation with photographer Luna Luis Ortiz and Ricky Tucker, author of “And the Category Is… Inside New York’s Vogue, House, and Ballroom Community.” This love letter to the legendary Black and Latine LGBTQ underground subculture, uncovers its abundant legacy and influence in popular culture.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Ricky Tucker pulls from his years as a close friend of the community to reveal the complex cultural makeup and ongoing relevance of house and Ballroom, a space where trans lives are respected and applauded, and queer youth are able to find family and acceptance. With each chapter framed as a “category” (Vogue, Realness, Body, et al.), “And the Category Is…“ offers an impressionistic point of entry into this subculture, its deeply integrated history, and how it has been appropriated for mainstream audiences. Each category features an exclusive interview with fierce LGBTQ/POC Ballroom members—Lee Soulja, Benjamin Ninja, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, and more—whose lives, work, and activism drive home that very category.
Purchase “And the Category Is …” from the Bureau’s online store by March 15, 2022, and receive 15% off with this promotional code: 93E56879N6AW
On the checkout page, click on the text “redeem your code” beneath the total. Enter the code in the box marked “enter your coupon code.” Thank you for supporting the Bureau!
ABOUT RICKY TUCKER
Ricky Tucker is a writer, educator, art critic based in Brooklyn. His work explores the imprints of art and memory on narrative, and the absurdity of most fleeting moments. He has written for the Paris Review, the Tenth Magazine, and Public Seminar, among others, and has performed for reading series including the Moth Grand SLAM. Tucker was chosen as a 2017 Lambda Literary Emerging Writer Fellow for creative nonfiction, and received his Writer/Teacher MA at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a B.A. in fiction at The New School. His debut book, “And the Category Is…Inside New York’s Vogue, House, and Ballroom Community” (Beacon Press) is available online and in stores.
ABOUT LUNA LUIS ORTIZ
Luna Luis Ortiz was born in New York City, 1972. Ortiz is an Artist, Photographer, Legendary Icon & Hall of Famer in Ballroom, HIV Survivor, and LGBT Advocate. He has been a Coordinator at GMHC since 2007.
Over the years Ortiz has dedicated his life to HIV prevention and AIDS awareness for people around the world by sharing his life and stories on MTV, VH1, PBS, Telemundo, Logo, NY1, MSNBC, ABC, Time Out with Magic Johnson and Arsenio Hall, as well as Living in the Age of AIDS with Peter Jennings television specials.
Ortiz has received letters of appreciation from New York City Mayors Edward Koch and David Dinkins as well as the Distinguished Service Award from the State of New York. In 2015, Ortiz received The City of New York Proclamation from The City Council at City Hall for his over 30 years of dedication in the fight against AIDS.
As a public speaker he has been invited to share his life story and art at universities such as NYU, Cornell, Penn State, and Yale; and at museums such as the Jersey City Museum, Whitney Museum, Queens Museum, Museum of the City of New York, and American Folk Art Museum.
Ortiz’s art has been included in photography exhibitions at galleries in New York and Paris as well as the Boston Center of the Arts, Whitney Museum, The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, Museum of the City of New York, New Museum of Contemporary Art, The LGBT Community Center, The Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, and the annual transatlantic Global Pride Art Exhibition at Clifford Chance in NY and DC.
Luna Luis Ortiz is featured in the following books:
1. “We Are Here” by Jasmin Hernandez
2. “Queer Holdings: A Survey of the Leslie-Lohman Museum Collection”
3. “And The Category Is…” by Ricky Tucker
To request an accommodation for this event, please contact Richard Morales at rmorales@gaycenter.org or 646.502.6370 by March 8, 2022.
Please note: We are thrilled to be welcoming our community back to in-person events with The Center! Our utmost priority is the health and safety of our staff, visitors, and community. The Center is actively monitoring the ongoing situation with COVID-19 as well as the guidelines from New York City, New York State, and the CDC. The Center will keep guests apprised of all requirements for entry to the building and will continue to update this page with current safety policies.
DETAILS
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
7 p.m. ET
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. ET
$10 Suggested Donation