The Gay Community Center of Philadelphia 1315 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107 t/a

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PHILADELPHIA, PA PERMIT NO. 5411

JAN
2011

Connect With Us:

http://twitter.com/wmway http://youtube.com/williamwaycc http://on.fb.me/williamway info@waygay.org

To be placed on the Centers discreet mailing list or for more information about this option, please contact us at (215) 732-2220 Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm.

This Issue

p1. Greetings from the Exec Director Dec Town Hall Meeting a Smashing Success p2. January Calendar p4. January at a Glance p6. Men of All Colors Celebrates 30 years in Jan 2011

The Centers Art Gallery presents Condensation by local artist Alexander Conner in January!
The William Way LGBT Art Gallery opens the 2011 exhibition year with works by the winner of the 2010 Juried Art Competition for LGBTQ artists, Alexander Conner. Do not miss the special opening night reception on Fri, Jan 14, 2011 from 6:00pm 8:00pm. This is a free wine and cheese reception and an excellent opportunity to view works by a local, emerging artist with an exciting and vibrant vision. The solo exhibition features a wide array of Conners works and techniques that he employs to examine people within relation to their environments through drawing, photography, and printmaking. Of special note, Conner will exhibit a select amount of 3D works installed in the gallery throughout the run of the show, Jan 10, 2011 - Feb 25, 2011. Conners work was selected for this solo exhibition by juror Matthew Palczynski, Staff Lecturer for Western Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where he has just completed two art history series, Modern Masters: Picasso in February, and Born Under Mars: Artistic Rivalries in April. He has also been invited to lecture at the Woodmere Art Museum, Tredyffrin Public Library, Rosemont College, Munson-Williams-Proctor Museum of Art, and Villanova University.

Fe a t u r i n g Re n ow n e d P i a n i s t C h i n g - Yu n H u

T h e W i l l i a m Wa y L G B T C o m m u n i t y C e n t e r C o r d i a l l y I n v i t e s Yo u t o a

Benefit Concert

Opening Reception/Concert $60 Concert Only $25 Tickets Available Online at www.waygay.org, In-Person at The William Way LGBT Community Center, or at 215-732-2220

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia 1906 Rittenhouse Square Concert 7:00 PM Openi ng Receptio n 6:0 0 P M

The William Way LGBT Community Center 1315 Spruce St Philadelphia, PA 19107 www.waygay.org (215) 732-2220 info@waygay.org

December Town Hall Meeting a Smashing Success

Dozens of community members, activists, Center donors, and friends braved uncharacteristically low temperatures to gather at the Center on Thursday, December, 9, 2010, to share their insights, thoughts, and vision for the direction of the William Way LGBT Community Center. Various stakeholders gathered in the Centers ballroom and sat in a circle to maximize peerto-peer exchanges. At the start of the meeting, Center intern Jasper Liem, the meetings facilitator, introduced the management team of the Center, including Executive Director Chris Bartlett, Director of Center Services Candice Thompson, Facilities Coordinator Avis Albaladejo, and Development Coordinator Josh Kruger. Each staffer shared what he or she did at the Center and discussed his or her unique role within the organizations structure. The staff then asked the community to offer their commentary. Throughout the question and answer period, attendees posed questions, including how they could bring their talents to help the Center grow and thrive. Future

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Greetings from the Executive Director

Greetings friends of the William Way LGBT Community Center, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the many of you who made very generous contributions to our Annual Appeal.
For the first time this year, we created an online video to spread the word about investing in the Center through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube (viewable at http://vimeo.com/17426814). We were gratified that so many of you shared the video and contributed electronically, and we also received many responses to our appeal letter. Each contribution supports the growth of our programs, the improvement of our historic facility, and the creation of a safe space for our communitys youth, adults, and elders. If you havent had a chance to give and can make a contribution now, consider an on-line gift at http://www.waygay.org/ support/default.asp, or send it to us via the post. Thank you again! This newsletter will be arriving in your mailbox around the New Year, and I hope its new design will stand as a symbol of the continued growth and evolution of our Community Center. I wanted the look to be easier to read with a sharp appearance that points you to the information you need (whether that is the calendar, a featured event, or photos from the past months events). Please let us know what you think of the new design - our marketing committee is eager to hear your feedback! On Thursday, December 9th, 2010, we hosted our second Town Hall meeting (the first, in October, focused on the proposed LGBT senior housing program). Over 40 individuals from throughout the region showed up to discuss their vision for the growth of the Center. The program also included short presentations by each of the divisions of the Center: programs, facilities, and resource development. We will be posting the minutes of the meeting on our website (http://www. waygay.org) soon, but I will say that the assembled group was energized, positive, and filled with creative and constructive ideas. Some of these were about increasing membership while others were about new programs that could benefit the community. A neighborhood ally also showed up to ask for more inclusion of the entire neighborhood (including non LGBT citizens) in our work. We emerged from the session with many great ideas that will be plugged into our strategic planning process beginning in March, 2011. Stay tuned for future town halls to provide an opportunity for you to share your vision, energy, and commitment. I hope you will mark you calendars for Thursday, January 20, 2011, when we will present a concert of piano music by worldrenowned pianist Ching-Yun Hu at the Ethical Society on Rittenhouse Square. The program features music by Ravel, Chopin and Liszt and is a benefit for the Community Center. Tickets are $60.00 for a wine and cheese opening reception at 6:00 PM including the concert or $25.00 for the concert alone starting at 7:00 PM. You can purchase your tickets on-line at www. waygay.org, or at the front desk of the Center. We very much look forward to seeing you! As you begin your new year, I wish you best wishes that all of your resolutions, dreams, and creativity will be fulfilled. We welcome you to visit the Community Center often to watch as we continue to build and sustain our Center of the Community. With my best regards and appreciation,

plans for programming and new, innovative marketing techniques were discussed, and attendees volunteered to assist the staff in forming committees, implementing special events, and more. I was heartened to see that, at this pivotal moment in our communitys and Centers history, we have scores of folks willing to step up to the plate and take an active role in community. Truly, it was a testament that the Center has made a positive impact on many lives and will continue to do so, says Development Coordinator Josh Kruger. Because of the success of the town hall meeting in December, the Center will begin holding regular, periodic town hall meetings, some with a general theme and others more topical. The Center will communicate through its calendar, newsletter, email blast, and website to the community when the next town hall will take place.

Men Of All Colors Celebrates 30 Years in January 2011

The John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archival exhibition space will play host to a number of local LGBT organizations this year starting out with an exhibition celebrating 30 years of Men of All Colors Together (MACT) beginning January 27, 2011, with a free opening reception for the Community at 6:00 PM at the William Way LGBT Community Center. archival exhibitions has been positive and at the same time, this community input has sparked a desire for access to the exhibition space as well as to the materials in the Centers extensive archival collections by the community. The upcoming exhibition will highlight the long and rich history of MACT which began in January of 1981 at the Smart Place (at the time a local LGBT club at 9th and Arch that catered to the black community.) Men of All Colors Together Philadelphia is a gay, multiracial, multicultural organization committed to fostering supportive environments wherein racial, social and cultural barriers can be overcome and the goal of human equality realized. To these ends, Men of All Colors Together Philadelphia engages in educational, political, cultural and social activities as a means of dealing with racism, sexism, homophobia, heterosexism, HIV/AIDS, ageism, ableism, classism, and other inequities in our communities and in our lives, says the MACT mission statement. The Center looks forward to forging new and strengthening existing collaborations around our LGBT history programming in 2011 and beyond.

The focus of the exhibitions in 2011 is community partnerships.

The focus of the exhibitions in 2011 is community partnerships. Instead of the Centers creative team interpreting the materials in the archives around a theme, we are supporting various local organizations in telling their history in their voice by lending the Centers resources and experience, says Candice Thompson, Director of Center Services. Much of the feedback throughout 2010 around the Centers quarterly

Chris Bartlett Executive Director

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Around the Center

January Calendar

The gents from MorningsOut visit the USS Olympia.

Facilities Technician Jim Crouch reinstalls the gay pride flag on the Centers facade.

Members of the Queer Student Union from Towson University met in the Centers ballroom.

The Centers archival exhibit Beyond Bayard was presented to the LGBTQ Womyn of Color Conference.

Holiday Hours The Center will have abbreviated hours on: Sat, Jan 1, 12-5pm Mon, Jan 17, 12-5pm Art Gallery: Works by Alexander Conner Jan 10 Feb 25 Opening Reception: Fri Jan 14, 6-8pm Alexander Conner is a Philadelphia based interdisciplinary artist. He received a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and a B.A. in Sociology from Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ) in 2008. His work examines people within relation to their environments through drawing, photography, printmaking, technology, sound works, video and installation. Selected exhibitions of his work include the Afferro Gallery (Newark, NJ), Apex Art (New York, NY), Reference (Richmond, VA), and Wien (Vienna, Austria, EU). Mr. Conners projects are featured in Rhizomes ArtBase Collection (Global) and the Newark Public Librarys Artists Books Department (Newark, NJ). His work was recently the subject of a New York Times story investigating contemporary artistic studio practices during extreme economic climates. (The Recession Proof Artist May 2009). Mr. Conner is an avid cook, bread baker, and is currently employed as studio monitor at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA). He is also a contributor to the international arts journal LAND MAGAZINE, and contributor to Adaptation, an independent curatorial entity based in Philadelphia.

NEW! FREE! TransWay Thursdays, 7-9pm A weekly social group for transgender men & women. FREE! Chess Club Sundays, 4-6pm This is a new inclusive group seeking players of all skill levels interested in socializing and working on their game.

MorningsOut dines at the fabulous Green Eggs Cafe in South Philadelphia.

The gay pride flag reinstalled in front of the center

The guys from MorningsOut visited the rare books collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

January at a Glance
Volunteer Orientation Wed, Jan 5, 7:30pm Volunteer Orientation is a monthly information session for new volunteers to learn about the Center and the various ways to get involved. Call (215) 7322220 to register. FREE! BiUnity Discussion Group Fri, Jan 14, 7 9pm (2nd Fri of every other month) Philadelphias only social and support network for bisexual people, their families, and friends. FREE! WeXist Fri, Jan 14 & 28, 7pm (Every 2nd & 4th Fri of the month) Support group for transmen, those born female with gender identity questions, and femaleto-male (FTM) transsexuals. A Penny for Your Thoughts Sat, Jan 15, 4-7pm This guided discussion on all issues which impact lesbian, bisexual and questioning women will provide an opportunity to address a variety of topics including but not limited to sexuality, role playing, politics, relationships, and more. Each question will be written on a 3 by 5 index card and folded in half and cards will be picked randomly by the co-facilitators, Trina Dorman and Yvette Lassiter, MSW, and read to the group at large. FREE. RSVP is required to info@waygay.org or 215-732-2220 limited space. PhilaVentures: National Museum of American Jewish History Sun, Jan 16, 1pm Lets explore this brand new museum, located at 5th & Market Streets in Philadelphia, which focuses on the 350year history of Jews in North America. It covers among other things, immigration, political affairs, religion, the performing arts, life in suburbia, and the relationship between American Jews and Israel. Well gather at the William Way Center. On our way to the museum, well stop briefly in front of the 18thcentury Mikveh Israel cemetery and the Society Hill Synagogue. During our visit to the museum, well stop for a snack later in the afternoon at the museums kosher cafe. Admission to the museum is $12 for those between 22 and 64 and $11 for those either below or above those ages. If you have any questions, contact Hal at 215772-0455 or tarrhal@yahoo.com (E-mail before 5 PM on Jan. 14 to get a response.). Attic Youth Center Queerealities Poster Series Jan 17 Feb 28 Queerrealities: Posters for Change, was imagined, designed, and printed by 17 youth at the Attic Youth Center during the 2010 summer, in conjunction with Work Ready Philadelphia. Youth were provided with examples of how the poster has been used as a tool for social change, dialogued with LGBTQ elders at the William Way Community Center, and visited the William Way archives. The purpose was to generate a poster series that would hang in Philly public high schools and increase visibility around queer issues and provide information about the Attic as a resource for LGBTQ youth and their allies. Volunteer Velada & Dinner Tue, Jan 18, 7pm (Every 3rd Tuesday of the month) Help us fold and assemble our monthly mailing. Its a big job and we need -your help! Book Club: Our Lady of Flowers by Jean Genet Wed, Jan 19, 7 8pm Jean Genets first, and arguably greatest, novel was written while he was in prison. As Sartre recounts in his introduction, Genet penned this work on the brown paper which inmates were supposed to use to fold bags as a form of occupational therapy. The masterpiece he managed to produce under those difficult conditions is a lyrical portrait of the criminal underground of Paris and the thieves, murderers and pimps who occupied it. Genet approached this world through his protagonist, Divine, a male transvestite prostitute. In the world of Our Lady of the Flowers, moral conventions are turned on their head. Sinners are portrayed as saints and when evil is not celebrated outright, it is at least viewed with a benign indifference. Whether one finds Genets work shocking or thrilling, the novel remains almost as revolutionary today as when it was first published in 1943 in a limited edition, thanks to the help of one its earliest admirers, Jean Cocteau. Womens Wednesdays Wed, Jan 19, 5:30-7:30pm Come share your thoughts and ideas on how you might help another lesbian through volunteering. Whether a young person, an elder, or someone your own age. Lets think about how we can make a difference. Light fare will be available. This is an opportunity for women 50+ to network and forge friendships. For more info, contact Ed Miller at emiller@ waygay.org. Benefit Concert: Performance by Ching-Yun Hu Thu, Jan 20, 7pm The Center is excited to announce an upcoming benefit featuring internationally acclaimed pianist Ching-Yun Hu, winner of the 2009 Concert Artists Guild Competition at Carnegie Hall. The event will take place on Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia, 1906 Rittenhouse Square. Tickets are $25 for the concert and $60 for reception and concert. Tickets can be purchased online at ww.waygay. org or 215-732-2220. FREE! Guys Night Out: Curtis Institute of Music Student Recital Series Fri, Jan 21, 7pm Please join us for the evening of fine music with some of the most exceptional emerging performers in the country. Well have wine and light nibbles to begin with at the Center and then walk over to the Curtis Institute (18th and Locust Streets) at 7:30pm for the 8pm performance. The Curtis Student Recital Series offers more than one hundred free public performances each season, making available more than 24,000 free seats to Philadelphians every year. RSVP requested. Annual Membership Meeting Sat, Jan 22, 1:30pm As a member of the community Center, you are invited to the 2011 Annual Meeting held at the Center Saturday, January 22, 2011, at 1:30 PM. During this important meeting, members of the Center will learn about the Centers future and direction as well as vote on candidates running for the Board of Directors. All members are invited and encouraged to attend! FREE! Queer Writers Collective Sat, Jan 22, 3-5pm (Every 4th Sat of the month) Join this free group for a monthly workshop and discussion to develop your unique queer voice via the written word at the Center. Contact Candice for information at (215) 732-2220 or info@waygay.org. Free. Silver Foxes Sun, Jan 23, 3-5pm (Every 4th Sunday of the month) For LGBT 50+ folks. A monthly social and discussion group at the Center. Light refreshments will be served and feel welcome to bring other food. FREE! John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives: Resisting Racism: 30 Years of Men of All Colors Together Jan 27 Mar 25 In January of 1980, the very first BWMT (Black and White Men Together) group began in San Francisco, CA. A courageous few decided to create a group of gay people who enjoyed interracial relationships and who wished to actively confront the issue of racism in their lives. One year later, the idea had been carried across the country and on January 25, 1981, a meeting was held at the Smart Place to discuss the possibility of forming such a group in Philadelphia. Please join the Center and MACT as we celebrate their 30th Year Anniversary by exploring and explaining their vibrant history in the John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives exhibition space.

Library See Calendar for hours Over 10,000 LGBT themed books and DVDs available for check out. (Free) Sun: 12-3pm, Mon: 12-9pm, Tue: 3-6pm, Wed: 12-9pm, Thu: 12-9pm, Fri: 3-6pm, Sat: 12-6pm FREE! M.O. (Mornings OUT) Senior Social Tuesdays, 10:30am-12:30pm A social/educational group for older men with occasional outings, speakers and events. Light refreshments served. FREE! Mah-jongg Thursdays, 12pm & 7:30pm For experienced and new players. Mah-jongg is a game of skill, strategy, calculation, and luck for four players. Reservations required call (215) 732-2220. FREE! Rainbow Buddhist Meditation Sundays, 5pm For Buddhists and those interested in Buddhism. Meditation and discussion. FREE! Rapid HIV Testing Mondays, 4-7pm Walk-in confidential HIV testing using the OraQuick Advance oral swab test (no blood draw). Testing process takes 30- 45 minutes. Results provided during the appointment. PhilaVentures Wissahickon Hike Last Sun of Each Month, 2pm An opportunity for walking at a moderate pace with a talkative group of LGBT people who like fresh air and exercise. Some ups/downs and uneven paths. Meet at former Borders Books in Chestnut Hill.

Recurring Weekly Programs

FREE! Bridge Club Mondays, 2-5pm Party Bridge for the experienced player. Reservations required. Call Ellis (215) 732-2220.