When asked to provide headlines describing InterseXtions program this past this year, our teen staff

When asked to provide headlines describing InterseXtions program this past this year, our teen staff said the following:Queer Youth Program helps Trans teen find Themselves!ADVOCATE! ACCEPT! APPRECIATE! Queer Kong: NYC Overrun By LGBT+ TeensAn environment that fosters hope and beauty to find in one’s selfMuseum program helps queer teens find community and belonging through artWhat An Adventure!What an adventure it’s been! The fifth year of our paid LGBTQ+ teen internship has been full of vibrant expression, criticality and learning, and uncompromised celebration of all the sissies, boi dykes, people of color, and the many kith and kin mentioned in Mark Aguhar’s Litanies to my heavenly brown body (pictured below). This work by Aguhar, a trans femme filipinx activist, artist, and writer, is included among the constellation of twenty-eight LGBTQ+ artists and collectives working in NYC today in Nobody Promised You Tomorrow: Art 50 Years After Stonewall, which served as inspiration for the incredible work InterseXtions did this year.Levi Narine, alum of our Teen Night Planning Committee, and rehired in a temporary mentee position to support both the cross departmentally curated exhibition, and InterseXtions, reflects: “This past year has been a heartwarming, empowering, and educational experience for all of us. With the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall riots, LGBTQ+ communities were ready to celebrate and commemorate our queer veterans internationally; but BkM Teens had an unparalleled way of commemorating the riot that sparked LGBTQ+ rights. Unlike other museums, Intersextions is one of the few (if any) paid programs for LGBTQ+ teens to explore queer history and art. We became like family, through ice breakers, readings and discussions, and intimate field trips all around NYC. I had been granted the opportunity to mentor these intellectual queer individuals, and I’ve learned just as much as they did through our journey toward community building and BkM Teen’s Annual LGBTQ+ Teen Night.”InterseXtions organized several events inspired by Nobody Promised You Tomorrow and this moment in history, including a Variety Show during First Saturday featuring original spoken word poetry and storytelling; an LGBTQ+ Teen Summit in collaboration with the Museum of the City of New York for the third year; an LGBTQ+ Black History Month poetry reading in collaboration with the NYC Mayor’s Office and Urban Word NYC; written reviews of books and zines on view in the exhibition’s reading room, Our House; a Youth Pride mural and artist talk in collaboration with adidas and their Keith Haring line; and of course our sixth annual LGBTQ+ Teen Night, Transforming Tomorrow. The evening featured panel discussions with artists Mohammed Fayaz and Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski, DJ Tahyana Walcott, Fanta the Poet, performances by Lady Quesa’dilla and the drag house of J.E.M., time capsules, headdress making, good food, and community organizations around NYC supporting LGBTQ+ youth.As InterseXtions member Darren Dasne reflects, “my favorite moment in InterseXtions was seeing the book reviews on display up in the exhibit. The reason this made me happy was because the amount of hard work we put was being shown to everyone.”“After this year, I definitely think about creating my own organization to help queer Latinx people. I often don’t see people voicing Latinx people especially queer latinx people,” says Ashley Cervantes, InterseXtions member.Narine comments, “I was able to be apart of Brooklyn Museum history. I am still in amazement, that the fact that my name is in vinyl letters in the Museum’s exhibition. I went through some challenges in my personal life during the making of Nobody Promised You Tomorrow but I made family, gained support, and I wouldn’t exchange my time in this position for the world. Thank you to the BkM team, teens, community organizations, and artists for being a notable chapter of my life. I am destined to achieve greatness in the near future with the help of you all.”Just because the fiftieth anniversary is ending, doesn’t mean we are done advocating, accepting, and appreciating LGBTQ+ youth, artists, community members, and colleagues. We’re just getting started!Applications to join InterseXtions are open and welcome from any NYC LGBTQ+ self identified youth, ages 14–19 until September 22. Applications for Teen Night Planning Committee, open to all current NYC high school students, are open until October 6. Save the date for our 2020 Teen Nights: February 7, March 27, May 22, and June 12.Express yourself and let’s work to create a better tomorrow.Posted by Lindsay C. Harris -- source link

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