BGSQDBureau of General Services—Queer Division
BGSQD
Cast of Characters
An Immersive Exhibition by Liz Collins
June 14 – September 16, 2018
Download the press release for Cast of Characters.
Donors reception
Thursday, June 14, 2018, 6-9 PM
(for donors of $85 or more to Cast of Characters Kickstarter campaign—(campaign ended–successfully!!!–on May 31st)
Press Preview
Members of the press will be admitted to the exhibition at 5 PM on Thursday, June 14th. Please contact Greg Newton at contact@bgsqd.com with the subject line “RSVP for Press Preview of Cast of Characters” and please include your affiliation.
Public opening reception:
Friday, June 15, 2018, 6-9 PM
RSVP required for Public Opening Reception.
This event is free, but donations to support the Bureau’s work are much appreciated!
EXHIBITION
BUREAU OF GENERAL SERVICES—QUEER DIVISION
ROOM 210, LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER
VIP Donors Reception (June 14) and Public Reception (June 15)
ROOM 101, LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER
208 WEST 13TH STREET
The Bureau of General Services—Queer Division and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center are proud to present Cast of Characters, a dramatic transformation of the Bureau by artist Liz Collins featuring a salon-style exhibition of portraits by 95 LGBTQ artists. Inspired by lavishly decorated and richly ornamented nineteenth-century libraries and salons, this immersive installation brings vibrant colors, dynamic geometric patterns, and lush textures to the Bureau’s utilitarian aesthetic of plywood and cardboard. The exhibition will transform the Bureau into a warm, bright lounge, inspiring contemplation and conversation, beckoning visitors to linger, look, and read.
Made possible by a grant from The Kors Le Pere Foundation and by individual donations to the Cast of Characters Kickstarter campaign.
In order to attend the VIP Donors Preview and Opening Reception for Cast of Characters please donate $85 or more to the Cast of Characters Kickstarter campaign by the deadline of Thursday, May 31, 2018. Campaign ended–successfully!!!–on May 31st,
Exhibiting artists
Liz Collins is an artist and designer living and working in Brooklyn, NY, and in her work surrounds the viewer in vibrating color and pattern fields to explore the boundaries between painting, fiber arts and installation. The cacophonic play of optics, texture, color and scale recreates her wavering experience of the world as a place of stupendous wonder and cosmic energy.
Collins has had solo exhibitions at the Tang Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY; Heller Gallery, NY; AMP Gallery, Provincetown, MA; and the Knoxville Museum of Art in Tennessee to name a few. Her work has been included in numerous exhibitions including at the ICA/Boston; Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art; the Museum of FIT; the New Museum; the Museum of Arts and Design and MoMA, and numerous group shows at galleries around the world. Collins’ awards include a USA Fellowship, a MacColl Johnson Fellowship, and residencies at AIR Alaska, Haystack, MacDowell, the Siena Art Institute, Stoneleaf, Yaddo, and the Museum of Arts and Design. She is a Queer Art Mentor, serves on the board of the Fire Island Art Residency, is a new member of the Exhibitions Committee at the Leslie Lohman Museum, and is one of the artists in the 2018-2020 Open Sessions program at the Drawing Center.
The Bureau of General Services—Queer Division is an independent, all-volunteer queer cultural center, bookstore, and event space that opened in New York City in 2012 and has been hosted by The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center since 2014. We aim to foster a community invested in the values of mindfulness, intellectual curiosity, justice, compassion, and playfulness. The Bureau seeks to excite and educate a self-confident, sex-positive, and supportive queer community by offering books, publications, and art and by hosting a wide variety of cultural events, including readings, performances, film screenings, book discussion groups, and workshops. We provide local and visiting queers and friends with an open and inclusive space for dialogue and socializing.
Established in 1983, New York City’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center empowers people to lead healthy, successful lives. The Center celebrates diversity and advocates for justice and opportunity. Each year, The Center welcomes more than 300,000 visits to our building in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan from people who engage in our life-changing and life-saving activities. To learn more about our work, please visit gaycenter.org.
Bureau of General Services—Queer Division
@The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
208 West 13th Street, Room 210
NY, NY 10011
Hours: Tuesdays—Sundays, 1-7 PM. Closed Mondays.
Summer hours (July & August): Wednesdays—Saturdays, 1-7 PM.
Closed Mondays, Tuesdays, & Sundays.
Image credit:
Wallpaper designed by Liz Collins, produced by 4Spaces
Portraits by:
top row: Shelley Marlow, Cassils, Lani Asuncion
middle row: Dietmar Busse, Martine Gutierrez, Zanele Muholi
Bottom row: Nao Bustamante, Hannah Barrett, Paula Allen