Underground & Unapologetic: A Black Queer Zine Workshop

Join us Monday, February 24, from 5-7PM for an evening of art making, exploration, storytelling, and creative resistance. Engaging the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and the Culture Wars of the 1990s as key historic points of departure, this hands-on session delves into the ways Black queer artists, activists, and writers have shaped history. Together, we will take our cues from the influence of Black art makers and historical figures, and create one-of-a-kind works from an array of print materials.

Led by multidisciplinary artists, Damien Davis and Gabriel Boyd, the workshop draws from works from the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art’s expansive library archive and invites participants to reclaim and reimagine Black queer histories through DIY publishing.

Underground & Unapologetic: A Black Queer Zine Workshop
Black Queer Voices in the Harlem Renaissance (1920s–1930s)
The Harlem Renaissance was a period of artistic, literary, and cultural explosion that defined Black modernism in the United States. While often framed around figures like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Duke Ellington, the movement was deeply shaped by ss and thinkers.

Writers like Richard Bruce Nugent openly depicted queer love in literature, while blues musicians like Ma Rainey and Gladys Bentley infused their music with themes of same-sex desire. Alain Locke, the so-called “Dean of the Harlem Renaissance,” envisioned a new Black artistic identity while privately navigating his own queerness. Yet, despite their significant contributions, many of these figures were later sanitized or omitted from dominant narratives. This workshop seeks to reclaim and highlight the queer foundations of the Harlem Renaissance, examining how Black queer artists shaped an era of radical cultural production.

In 2006, Leslie-Lohman opened Richard Bruce Nugent’s first one-man show in New York, the first exhibition of his work to include his sexually explicit images. Pictured here are 2 pages from THE ARCHIVE: No. 21: Autumn 2006, with works of Nugent’s accompanied by words from scholar, co-founder of Fire!! Press and executor of Richard’s estate, Thomas H Wirth.

A Selection of Black Queer Artists from the Harlem Renaissance (1920s–1930s):
Alain Locke – Philosopher, writer, and intellectual known as the “Dean” of the Harlem Renaissance.

Richard Bruce Nugent – Writer and visual artist, openly queer in his work, known for Smoke, Lilies and Jade.

Gladys Bentley – Gender-nonconforming blues performer known for her tuxedos and risqué performances.

Claude McKay – Poet and novelist who explored themes of race and queerness.

Ethel Waters – Blues singer and actress, known for her relationships with women in the entertainment industry.

Langston Hughes – Renowned poet and writer, believed to have had queer relationships, though discreet about them.

Ma Rainey – Blues legend whose lyrics and life openly reflected queer themes.

Bessie Smith – Iconic blues singer known for her powerful voice and same-sex relationships.

Mabel Hampton – Dancer and LGBTQ+ activist, involved in the Harlem drag scene.

Countee Cullen – Poet who wrote about racial and queer identity, though his queerness was often coded.

Angelina Weld Grimké – Playwright and poet, one of the first Black women to write about same-sex love.

Ethel Waters – Blues singer and actress with deep connections to the queer Harlem scene.

Wallace Thurman – Writer, editor, and literary figure, known for The Blacker the Berry and his involvement in Harlem’s queer circles.

Edna Thomas – Actress and openly queer Harlem Renaissance figure.

Bruce Nugent & Wallace Thurman (Fire!! Journal) – Co-creators of the short-lived but radical literary magazine that pushed boundaries on race and sexuality.

About the Artists

two photos of two people, the headshot on the right is a person with dreadlocks, wearing a jacket and the headshot on the left is wearing a black tshirt with
Image credit: Redens Desrosiers, Courtesy of Damien Davis

Courtesy of Gabriel Boyd

Damien Davis is a Newark-based artist whose work recontextualizes cultural symbols to explore identity and history. His distinctive visual language has been featured in exhibitions at prestigious institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Davis has participated in notable residencies, including the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Project for Empty Space. He has received awards such as the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Community Engagement Grant. A dedicated educator, he currently teaches at Purchase College (SUNY). Davis holds a BFA and an MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University.

Gabriel Boyd is a Black trans artist based in New York and a current student at SUNY Purchase. Working primarily with found materials and performance, their practice explores Black cultural signifiers, such as Black hair and hair care products to interrogate how Black experiences interact with the virtual. They are excited to assist at the Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, helping curate a making experience that weaves together Black queer past, present, and future.