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April 1, 2022 • Schneps Media
Rockin’ with Pride
BY MATT TRACY
For the first time since 2019, the annual
Pride Island festivities will return on
Pride weekend in New York City —
and this time the weekend-long event will
have a new home.
Out trans pop star Kim Petras will
headline Pride Island with a Sunday performance
at the Play Lawn at Governor’s
Island, while Papi Juice — an art collective
aiming to empower LGBTQ people of color
— will lead Saturday’s performances during
the final weekend of June. The annual
event previously took place at Pier 97.
Heritage of Pride, or NYC Pride, which
leads the city’s main Pride March and related
events, is spearheading the Pride Island
programming. Pride Island kicks off on Friday,
June 24 and lasts through the conclusion
of Pride weekend on Sunday, June 26.
“With our first ever trans headliner and
our move to Governors Island, this will truly
be a historic weekend in the history of Pride”
Lauren Cheeseborough, Pride Island’s event
manager, said in a written statement. “The
expansion of Pride Island to a 3-day event
creates new experiences for the community
to love and live their truth by dancing freely
without fear of consequence.”
Sunday’s entertainment slate will also
include DJ Eddie Martinez, DJ Dani Toro,
and DJ Alex Chapman. Additional performers
will be unveiled at a later date.
General admission tickets will go on sale
on April 6, though pre-sale tickets are available
for Mastercard customers.
“Pride Island is rooted in a history dating
back more than 30 years,” Mario Schmitt,
Pride Island’s director, said in a written
statement. “After being silenced for the past
2 years due to the pandemic, we are coming
back with one of the biggest events in Pride
history. We are proud to be breaking barriers
by introducing our first Pride Island
headliner of the transgender experience.”
Pride Island will be just one part of
what is expected to be a much busier Pride
weekend in New York City following backto
back years of COVID-related restrictions.
While the alternative Queer Liberation
March has drawn tens of thousands
of people in recent years, the Heritage of
Pride March has been limited to smaller
events during the pandemic. The NYC
Pride March is scheduled to take place on
Sunday, June 26.
RAUL CORDERO & TIMES SQUARE ARTS
Rendering of THE POEM.
BY ESTHER WICKHAM
Raúl Cordero, a Cuban artist, will
reveal his new immersive art
installation, THE POEM, in the
heart of Times Square from April 8 to
May 4.
“It’s difficult to create meaningful art
for people in an era when their attention
is scattered across so many mediums
and technologies simultaneously. THE
POEM seeks to stop time, reminding us
that humans also have the capacity to
invest in one thing at a time — like listen
to “the secret dialogue of trees” (as
put poetically by Reinaldo Arenas) and
read a haiku, even when standing in the
center of Times Square,” Cordero said.
Cordero’s work project is dedicated
to and inspired by the Cuban poet Reinaldo
Arenas.
The art mixed with the over-stimulating
atmosphere of Times Square shows
the artist’s intentions of providing a
unique yet transformative experience
where visitors can momentarily transcend
the busy nature of the city.
“Playing to the monumental scale of
Times Square, THE POEM merges poetry
and the natural world to physically
ground us and hold open a contemplative
space in a place that is fundamentally
reliant on our fractured attention,”
Times Square Arts Director Jean
Cooney said.
Along with the project, Cordero will
feature a text-based video across billboards
with New York City’s diverse
poetry community. The exhibition will
include LaTasha Nevada Diggs, Paolo
Javier, Barry Schwabsky and more that
will provide an evening of poetry readings
and live performances celebrating
THE POEM and the poetry community.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Kim Petras to headline Pride Island on Governor’s Island
Times Square
to host art
installation
REUTERS/MARTON MONUS
Kim Petras will headline this year’s Pride Island celebration on Governors Island during Pride Weekend in June.