C ommitted to saving the lives of LGBTQ+ young people, New York’s Ali Forney Center offers a beacon of hope for the next generation of queer youth. Founded in 2002 in memory of the late homeless gender-nonconforming youth, Ali Forney, AFC offers temporary and permanent housing and services providing food, shelter, access to education, job readiness training, and medical services, as well as new, more accommodating 24-hour drop in center among other life-saving resources to more than 2000 queer young people in New York City. Sotheby’s is honored to include six works that have been generously donated by prominent queer and gender-queer artists—Jenna Gribbon, Salman Toor, Doron Langberg, Hernan Bas, Felipe Baeza and Nash Glynn—with full proceeds benefitting the AFC in our upcoming Contemporary Curated Sale this March.
The Ali Forney Center was founded in 2002 after Ali Forney, a queer homeless youth, was tragically killed on the streets of New York at the age of 22. Upon hearing of his friend’s death, AFC founder Carl Siciliano knew he had to take action, and began work to open this center. “I just couldn’t bear the thought of Ali’s name just vanishing like that…So I got to the point where I was just like, ‘This is an atrocity. Here we are in New York City, the birthplace of the LGBT Rights Movement. Thirty years after Stonewall, which homeless LGBT youth played such a key role in. And here we were 30 years later and it’s like they’re all stranded in the streets and getting killed.” (Carl Siciliano). Open 24-hours, the Ali Forney Center is committed to saving the lives of LGBTQ+ youth, protecting them from the harms of homelessness and empowering them with the tools needed to live independently. From initial intake at their drop-in center to transitional housing and job readiness training, AFC provides homeless LGBTQ+ youth a safe, warm, supportive environment to escape the streets.
The Ali Forney Story
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The group of works being offered to benefit the Ali Forney Center offer deeply compelling and striking portrayals of queer youth. Drawing extensively on their own lived experiences as queer and gender-queer artists, these six works offer earnest, confrontational, and profoundly candid representations of queer subjects. Sothebys is honored to facilitate these artists in their efforts to support the Ali Forney Center. “Our goal is to not only provide food, water, and shelter,” as is written in the AFC mission statement, “Our goal is to transform the lives of these young people so that they may reclaim their lives and never live on the streets again. Ali's murder has never been brought to justice, however, the spirit of Ali continues to live on in our work and in each of the lives we change.”
Browse Lots Benefiting the Ali Forney Center Contemporary Curated Sale
“The rise in awareness and increase in demand for work that explores the queer experience created an incredible opportunity to help the most urgently in need people in our community. I’m so thrilled to donate this piece to the Ali Forney Center, which houses and supports homeless queer youth. It’s a great privilege to be able to leverage my work for causes I believe in, and I very much hope that this new piece, depicting a moment of bliss in the sun, will help the Ali Forney center in their life-saving work.”
“As someone who has traveled across cultures from a society where people like us are bullied and marginalized, my heart goes out to homeless LGBTQIA+ youths. For me, this is the most meaningful cause to contribute to. I felt this painting was perfect for the occasion because it attempts to channel a sense of self and destiny flowering in this sissy boy who is about to clasp a neck chain in the mirror. I imagined that he or they are the descendants of many beautiful young figures who have been wronged, who have been erased by their families. People whose enormous talents have nourished civilization without receiving their fair share of appreciation and visibility. In this moment he/they are a self-possessed, untarnished young deity-- my imaginary hero - with the stories of their struggle and the search for freedom unfurling in the future.”
"I’m so grateful to have been introduced by my friend Doron Langberg to the Ali Forney Center. I’ve been utterly impressed and moved by the work they’re doing, 24-hours a day, to keep doors open for queer youth. These members of our community are our future, and it’s our shared responsibility to advocate for their safety and continued access to sustained care and support. I’m honored to be able to serve this worthy cause with my donation."
“It can be difficult to identify the role of an individual in contributing to solving complex social problems. Sometimes a role could just be to listen to what type of support is needed by those at the forefront providing direct service and care like AFC. I am excited to be in a position to contribute to AFC in a way that will generate funding to carry out the work of their mission-driven organization.”
“Today’s youth deserve so much more than this world has left. I’m donating this painting in the hopes of empowering them and thus elevating us all.”
Bas’ archetypal subjects are frequently shown in transitional life phases between youth and adulthood, and innocence and experience. The resulting paintings feature intricately rendered figures against lush, expressive and highly detailed backdrops. Part of the artist’s Supercuts series, the present work is inspired by barber shop portraits of young men modeling different hairstyles, and is named after the popular and cheap American hair salon chain. Bas was fascinated by the idea of choosing which hairstyle you want and assuming the identity and style that goes along with it.
