“Photographs From Plague In The Shadows”
Artist in Residence Kia LaBeija presents Photographs from Plague In The Shadows at The Greene Space in New York City.
Photographs From Plague In The Shadows is a new collection of portraits of people who were at the center of the early years of the AIDS epidemic in New York City. They include Valerie Reyes-Jimenez, an HIV-positive woman, activist, and city organizer; Maxine Frere, a retired nurse who spent the entirety of her 40-year career at Harlem Hospital and was the head nurse of the pediatric AIDS unit; Governor David Paterson, and Terry McGovern, lawyer, and Senior Associate Dean at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, and founder of the HIV Law Project. Their stories, and Kia’s, can be heard on WNYC studios and the HISTORY CHANNEL’s podcast Blindspot: The Plague in the Shadows.
Opening reception: January 25 from 6pm to 8 pm, free and open to the public, no tickets necessary.
Additional Programming:
Monday February 5, 2024 • 7:00pm - 8:30pm ET
Choose What You Pay Tickets starting at $5
Artist in Residence Kia LaBeija invites Elizabeth Koke and Theodore (Ted) Kerr to present their documentary theater work, I, of Course, Was Livid, based on a historic 1992 hearing at the CDC, when ongoing activism by women living with HIV finally resulted in expanding the clinical definition of AIDS to include their experiences.
After the performance, members of What Would an HIV Doula Do? will facilitate conversation and offer additional education about the play and the history it reveals.
The majority of I, of Course, Was Livid comes verbatim from, The CDC Transcript / Commentary, submitted to ACT UP by Nancy MacNeil, with additional text from Lessons from the Damned: Queers, Whores, and Junkies Respond to AIDS by Nancy E. Stoller; Women, The AIDS Crisis, and the Centers for Disease Control, by Maxine Wolfe; and writing and editing by Elizabeth Koke and Theodore (ted) Kerr for What Would an HIV Doula Do?
LOVE POSITIVE WOMEN Valentine’s Day Dance Party
Wednesday February 14, 2024 • 8:00pm - 11:00pm ET
Choose What You Pay Tickets starting at $5
Artist in Residence Kia LaBeija hosts the inaugural LOVE POSITIVE WOMEN Valentine’s Day Dance in partnership with Visual AIDS, celebrating women living with HIV. The evening will feature sweet treats, a photo booth, cash bar, and music by DJ Isas Lobas.
Friday, February 23, 2024 • 7:00pm - 8:30pm ET
Choose What You Pay Tickets starting at $5
Kia LaBeija takes the stage with her father, renowned jazz artist Warren Benbow and her brother, actor and composer Kenn Michael, for an intimate concert.
About Kia LaBeija
Kia Michelle Benbow, known professionally as Kia LaBeija, is an image maker and storyteller born and raised in the heart of New York City, Hell’s Kitchen. She composes theatrical autobiographical works ranging from photography, live performance, text based mediums, and film. She’s presented work at The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Tate Modern, The Brooklyn Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Museum of The City of New York, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The International Center for Photography The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, and the Performa ’19 Biennial.
Heavily involved in New York’s Iconic House and Ballroom scene for over a decade, Kia was a member of the Royal House of LaBeija from 2012 to 2019, serving as the Overall Mother from 2017 to 2019. She received a BA from the New School University and is currently pursuing an MFA in Fine Arts. She is a 2019 Creative Capital Awardee alongside her partner Taína Larot.
Leadership support for The Greene Space’s Artist-in-Residence program is provided by the Jerome L. Greene Foundation. Additional support is provided in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
