Event: Kinfolk & Gay Chorus Opening Celebration
Sunday, June 1, 2025
New York City AIDS Memorial Park
Celebrating new works by Jacolby Satterwhite, Tourmaline & Egyptt LaBeija, and Derek Fordjour (Kinfolk: Portals of Remembrance); Matthew Leifheit (The Gay Chorus: No Time At All), with a performance by Egyptt LaBeija
Gallery:
About the Event:
On the afternoon of June 1, the New York City AIDS Memorial hosted a public opening celebration to launch Kinfolk: Portals of Remembrance and Matthew Leifheit’s The Gay Chorus: No Time at All. Attendees explored the Kinfolk augmented reality artworks using the Kinfolk app, activating virtual monuments by artists Derek Fordjour, Tourmaline & Egyptt LaBeija (with a soundtrack by Geo Wyex), and Jacolby Satterwhite. The works remain viewable at the Memorial through April 2026 and transform the space into a digital site of remembrance and reflection. The program also featured a performance by Egyptt LaBeija in front of her AR portrait, captivating the crowd with a powerful expression of trans visibility and legacy.
The afternoon also included the debut of The Gay Chorus: No Time at All, a site-specific sound installation by Matthew Leifheit that fills the Memorial structure with digitized archival recordings of gay men’s choruses from 1985–1995. Presented as a daily hour-long loop throughout Pride Month, the installation offers a moving auditory reflection on loss, love, and survival.
Support:
Leadership support for Kinfolk: Portals of Remembrance was generously provided by Google.
Cultural programming at the New York City AIDS Memorial is made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Support for Kinfolk has been provided by the Mellon Foundation.
Thank you to the Kinfolk Tech Foundation: Idris Brewster, Aja Evans, Angie Fan, Micah Milner, and Ravon Ruffin Feliz. This installation was made with the support of Powerhouse Arts. The New York City AIDS Memorial and Kinfolk extend an extra special thanks to Karen Wong.
The Gay Chorus: No Time At All was made with the support of Powerhouse Arts: Audio engineering by John Michael Swartz; Production & installation by Jeremy Gender. The New York City AIDS Memorial gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Phillip A. Aarons and Shelley Fox Aarons.
Kinfolk: Portals of Remembrance and The Gay Chorus: No Time At All are exhibited through NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program.
Photos by Sam Clarke.