HART ISLAND STORIES
PRESENTED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE GENERATIONS PROJECT WITH EMCEE CASTRATA
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
4 PM
New York City AIDS Memorial
76 Greenwich Avenue, NYC
About the Event
On September 13, the New York City AIDS Memorial will once again welcome The Generations Project to produce our seventh afternoon of live storytelling, focusing on stories related to Hart Island.
Hart Island, located off the coast of the Bronx, is home to the largest public cemetery in the United States and holds a painful chapter of the AIDS epidemic. In the 1980s and ’90s, at the height of the crisis, New Yorkers who died of AIDS-related complications were often abandoned by family or refused burial elsewhere due to stigma, and were buried in mass graves on Hart Island. For years, these graves were unmarked and inaccessible, reinforcing the erasure and shame surrounding the epidemic. In recent years, artists, activists, and family members have fought to reclaim Hart Island as a site of memory and dignity, advocating for greater public access, transparency, and acknowledgment of the thousands of marginalized people who were laid to rest there as a result of discrimination, poverty, or public neglect.
This event is free and open to the public; however, you can register to attend here.
About the Collaborators
The Generations Project was founded to cultivate an intergenerational community and preserve LGBTQ+ history through oral story-sharing. They produce live storytelling events and facilitate programs that foster connection and empathy across all ages, classes, and sexual and gender identities, enabling the preservation of our history and telling our stories in our voices. By revitalizing the oral tradition, they create opportunities for in-person gatherings and community-building, ensuring the handing down of LGBTQ+ experiences to future generations and uplifting marginalized voices. Since 2021, the New York City AIDS Memorial and the Generations Project have collaborated on many live, storytelling events, including the series REVIVAL (June-October 2021), Meet Me On The Dance Floor (June 2022), The Recollectors (October 2023), and Empowered Voices: Women Living with HIV/AIDS (September 2024).
Location
The event will be held at the New York City AIDS Memorial, Greenwich Avenue and West 12th Street, NYC, rain or shine.
Support
This event is presented in collaboration with the Generations Project.
Storytelling and other community programming at the New York City AIDS Memorial is generously supported by the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation.
Photo courtesy of the New York City AIDS Memorial