Nelson Rodriguez

1972–1995

Nelson Rodriguez was born in Puerto Rico in 1972. His family moved to New York City when he was young and settled in the Bronx. In 1990, he participated in a new photography course taught by Lisa Ross at the Hetrick-Martin Institute, learning how to shoot, develop, and print black and white film. He was also an active member of the Alternate Visions Theatre Troupe of Lesbian and Gay Youth, a theater program founded by Barbara Bickhart at the the Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center. Frequenting the Piers, the Neutral Zone, Hetrick-Martin, and the Center, Nelson became close with other young artists such as Luna Luis Ortiz and Milton Garcia. He passed away at the age of twenty-three on November 14, 1995 due to AIDS-related complications.