Set in NYC during the height of the AIDS Crisis, “Marching in Gucci: Memoirs of a Well-Dressed Black AIDS Activist” is a Multimedia Solo Performance by Seattle artist Chad Goller-Sojourner that explores the paradoxical and precarious relationship between fighting AIDS while simultaneously engaging in self-harming behaviors.
Despite being on the front lines of the activist movement, and the AIDS epidemic impacting gay Black men at a disproportionate rate, this is believed to be the first theatrical and one of few public narratives exploring the AIDS crisis through the lens of a gay Black AIDS activist.
“We live in a time where HIV/AIDS is manageable, and marriage equality the law of the land. To voluntarily return to a time where gay men buried friends and lovers on a near-weekly basis is not an easy task,” says Goller-Sojourner. “Yet, it is one worthy of bearing witness to.”
Speaking to the context of the performance the artist continues, “I moved to New York City in the fall of 1992. The next few years would be the AIDS epidemic‘s most deadly. My first full year there, AIDS took the lives of 40,000 U.S. residents, and accounted for 23% of all U.S. deaths among men and 32% of all deaths among African American men. In 1995, AIDS deaths reached an all-time high of 50,000–only eight thousand less than the number of Americans lost in the Vietnam War. A disproportionate number those who died were Black and artists. The fact that I am still here has neverbeen lost on me.”
“We at Langston couldn’t be more proud to share Chad’s work with the community,” notes Tim Lennon, Executive Director of Langston. “This is a work of love, light and power. It truly embodies our mission of presenting art that explores Black Brilliance with radical inclusivity.”
Marching in Gucci: Memoirs of a Well-Dressed Black AIDS Activist will have four performances over Pride Weekend (Thurs., June 21 – Sat. June 23) at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute – 104 17th Ave S, Seattle WA 98144.
Tickets ($20.00 General $15 Students) are available now at Brown Paper Tickets:
