6.26.20 / New York / New York

Artists Are Selling Posters to Support New York’s Indispensable Nightlife Collectives

A global initiative to help queer nightlife survive the pandemic

We’re beginning to see the hospitality industry slowly get back on its feet, but of all forms of hospitality, nightlife seems the most precarious. People are still cautious at best about social gatherings, and with looming threats of a second wave (not that the first wave has technically ended) it would seem a little flippant to jump right back into party-mode. Nightlife might be the last industry to re-open, and while that’s understandable, it still creates a hole for both the workers, organizers, and artists that form it, but also the groups of people that need it as their only space of freedom and acceptance. This is particularly evident for the LGBTQA+ community, which has been intertwined in the formation of modern nightlife. To offset the burden on some of these communities, a new initiative called Support Nightlife NYC was formed to raise money so collectives such as Club Glam, GHET20GOTH1K, and The Spectrum—the predominantly-queer groups, events, and spaces behind some of the best New York nightlife experiences over the last few years—can sustain themselves through the pandemic. Support Nightlife NYC is selling posters from an array of artists including Jeff Koons, Wolfgang TIllmans, David Wojnaraowicz, Nan Goldin, and Daido Moriyama to benefit these collectives. Joining the recent flurry of incredible photo sales, some of which are still active and worth a look, these posters are an accessible way to get the imagery from famed artists, with each poster selling at only $50. The New York initiative is part of a global sale called 2020 Solidarity by Between Bridges, which are selling the same posters in different cities, benefitting different local collectives. Whether NYC or global, we want to return to these vibrant, unbound, multi-faceted nightlife experiences— someday—and until then we can keep the community alive, and get some new wall art to boot.