Kopkind Colony

Kick off Pride in Vermont with the grand opening on Gallery Walk Night, Friday, June 5th (5pm to 7pm) of a special art installation:

“Our Lives, Our History – Celebratin

g 40 years Since the Stonewall Riots.”

Includes a special historical visual remembrance by David M. Hall of some of the famous LGBT pioneers like Audre Lorde, Barbara Gittings and Amistead Maupin. Also the opening of the GrassRoots Wall “We Were Here!” with memorabilia from LGBT people, their families and friends in the local area.

It takes place at the Hooker Dunham Theater and Gallery, 139 Main Street. Brattleboro, VT (refreshments will be served).

Sponsored by The Kopkind Colony’s CineSlam

“I don’t think such a thing has been presented before in the area. My hope is that this presentation will get some folks in the archive preserving local history field in our local towns to begin to see GLBT lives and stories in rural America and all the great things they have done as something worthy of preserving in a serious manner.

It is my belief that we are still considered somewhat marginal when it comes to what is important to be saved and honored in rural America. I would say that GLBT marginalization is not only a symptom in the straight community but also part of the GLBT community itself. It is hard even in these times to break that feeling that our history and lives are not quite that important when it comes to saving our legacy. After so many hundreds of years of being invisible and dishonored by the major institutions of our societies, it is a very difficult task to rebound. But many are doing it.

In big cities we do have major archives like the Hormel Center in SF, the New York Public Library, Lesbian Herstory Archives, One Institute at UCLA, and Homodok in Amsterdam’s Public Library. But those took a determined effort by the many employees and activists and historians in those areas. As Audre Lorde said, “Everything we do must contribute to the struggle, because everything they do is grinding us into dust, and we will not be ground.”

So we start somewhere here in Brattleboro with this presentation and I appreciate all the folks who contributed and helped make the exhibition so wonderful. As well as the hard work that David M. Hall put into designing the historical posters.

I hope everyone reminds their friends to come and see it on Opening Night.”
-John Scagliotti

John Scagliotti, creator of In the Life.