"Remembrance: Gone and For Ever" Ceremony & Exhibition

Remembrance: an alternative memorial to Philadelphians and the HIV/AIDS crisis enacted through civic and theatrical performances and oral histories by the William Way LGBT Community Center and its John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives in partnership with artists, activists, and community leaders.

Learn more at: https://www.waygay.org/remembr...

The William Way LGBT Community Center and its John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives, partnering with artists, activists, and community leaders, is implementing Remembrance, an alternative multi-disciplinary memorial to Philadelphians and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Remembrance includes contextual oral history gathering through a series of community listening sessions, an original play inspired by undertold stories from the early days of the AIDS crisis, a "going home" ceremony to meaningfully provide a proper memorial to those at risk of being forgotten, and a dedicated web portal documenting the project's entirety and the ongoing work of the Archives' Philadelphia AIDS Oral History Project. Remembrance began in January 2020 and will culminate in June 2022.

Gone and For Ever: a “Going Home” Ceremony & Exhibit

Exhibit: June 21-25, 2022 at the William Way LGBT Community Center
Ceremony: June 25, 2022 at 3PM, at the William Way LGBT Community Center

Remembrance culminates with a public exhibit and “going home” ceremony, entitled Gone and For Ever. Designed and directed by artist/entrepreneur Alex Stadler, the exhibit and ceremony will provide a meaningful memorial to those Philadelphians at risk of being forgotten.

The exhibit will open at William Way LGBT Community Center on June 21, 2022, and will be displayed for public viewing through Saturday, June 25, 2022. On June 25, Stadler will lead the “going home” ceremony—a public memorialization ceremony and processional march through the streets of Philadelphia, beginning at William Way LGBT Community Center and concluding at The Church of St. Luke & The Epiphany.

We also invite submissions of names for inclusion in the memorial procession. Names can be submitted through Instagram at @alexstadlerartwork. Stadler will hand-write all submitted names on slips of paper, which will be burned and the ashes carried in the urns.