Free activities and events in New York City

Talking Statues: An Event That Brings the Stonewall Uprising to Life

Published: June 8, 2023; Aithor: Julia Sonrisa

Join us on Sunday, June 11 for the launch of the Talking Statues Project in Christopher Park to find out. That’s when both Christopher Park and the park’s George Segal “Gay Liberation” statues come to life for the first time and their stories are told by a Broadway cast.

Attendees will learn more about the project and hear the story of the 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising as only the park itself could tell it. Narrated by Broadway actor Damon Evans live, with Jenn Colella, Claybourne Elder, Rosa Gilmore, J. Harrison Ghee, and Conrad Ricamora providing recorded voices.

Special guests include:

• Erik Bottcher, New York City Council Representative;
• Brad Hoylman-Sigal, New York State Senator;
• Ben Garcia, Executive Director of the American LGBTQ+ Museum;
• David Peter Fox, Founder & CEO of Talking Statues;
• Diana Rodriguez, Founder of Pride Live and the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center;
• Ken Lustbader, Co-Director of NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project;
• Shirley McKinney, Superintendent at the National Park Service;
• Stacy Lentz, CEO of the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative;
• Timothy Leonard, Program Manager at the National Parks Conservation Association;
• Tom Viola, Executive Director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS;
• Eric Marcus, Executive Director of Making Gay History;
• Thomas Jørgensen, Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of Denmark in New York, and more!

Event co-chairs: Victoria Munro, Executive Director of Alice Austen House Museum, and John McCourt, VP of Social Impact at Weber Shandwick.

About the Talking Statues Project:

Talking Statues was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2013 by David Peter Fox. It works with mobile technology activated through a QR code at each statue or site’s location. There are currently Talking Statues in cities that include Helsinki, London, San Diego, Chicago, Dublin, Berlin, Manchester, and more. There are already several Talking Statues in New York City, including the Abraham Lincoln Statue in front of the New York Historical Society and the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument in Central Park. Visit the page to learn more.

To learn more about the American LGBTQ+ Museum and subscribe for updates, click here.

Time: 12:00 pm EDT

Free!

Registration

Detailed information and discussion of the event.