A new solo exhibition by creative artist, Beau McCall. REWIND: HISTORY ON REPEAT is a timely and heartfelt exhibition spotlighting the Black LGBTQ+ experience in America and featuring McCall’s collages and archival material from Stonewall National Museum, Archives and Library (SNMAL).
The collages are drawn from McCall’s debut artists’ book, REWIND: MEMORIES ON REPEAT which honors the legacy of ten of McCall’s deceased friends.
WHEN: Opening Reception & Artist Talk
Friday, June 2, 2023 from 6 to 9 PM ET
Light refreshments will be provided.
WHERE: SNMAL – 1300 East Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
REWIND: HISTORY ON REPEAT, a solo exhibition by Beau McCall – a brief fireside chat starting at 6:45 PM with McCall and guest curator Souleo and moderated by Robert Kesten, Executive Director, Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library.
Robert Kesten (he/him/his) has worked globally promoting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and furthering democracy. This work has taken many forms including writing and producing an award winning documentary on learning about the Holocaust at the Concentration Camps in Poland, Working on the Ghanaian Constitution, coordinating and producing events leading to Ukrainian independence, producing events for the first AIDS day treatment center in the nation, pushing for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Ukraine (the first Soviet Republic to do so).
Kesten comes to Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library (SNMAL) with national and international experience, taking ideas and bringing them to life. This position brings full circle his active engagement in the LGBTQ+ community and his commitment to using history as a tool to make sense and fashion a response to today and tomorrow.
About Beau McCall:
Beau McCall—enthusiastically proclaimed by American Craft magazine as “The Button Man”—creates wearable and visual art by applying clothing buttons onto mostly upcycled fabrics, materials, and objects. His artworks, offering commentary on topics such as pop culture and social justice have been included in exhibitions at The Museum at FIT, Nordstrom, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Houston Museum of African American Culture, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Black Fashion Museum, the Langston Hughes House in partnership with the inaugural Columbia University Wallach Art Gallery Uptown triennial and StoryCorps, and Rush Arts Gallery. McCall’s work is held in the permanent collection of public institutions and by private individuals including the Museum of Arts and Design (New York), Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia), Victoria and Albert Museum (London), The Museum at FIT (New York), Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York), Amistad Research Center (New Orleans), The Museum of Modern Art Library (New York), Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art (New York), Stonewall National Museum & Archives (Fort Lauderdale), and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Library (San Francisco), Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Residence, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Jeffrey Gibson, and Cristina Grajales. McCall has also been commissioned by the Museum of Arts and Design, Columbia University, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Media outlets including the NY Times, Women’s Wear Daily, Associated Press, NPR, and L.A. Times have featured McCall and his work. In addition, he has served as a teaching artist at the Newark Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Harlem Arts Alliance. McCall is also the creator of the wearable art line called, Triple T-shirts. In 2021, he released his debut artists’ book titled, REWIND: MEMORIES ON REPEAT, commissioned and published by SHINE Portrait Studio@ Express Newark, Rutgers University-Newark. In 2024, McCall will debut his first-ever retrospective titled, Beau McCall: Buttons On! at Fuller Craft Museum. McCall was born in Philadelphia, PA and currently lives and works in Harlem, NY. For more information: BeauMcCall.com or IG: @beau_mccall
About Souleo:
Souleo has been hailed as an “Icon of Harlem” (Ruth Millington, art historian and author of Muse) and “Harlem’s Heart & Soul” (NY Daily News). An acclaimed creative, curator, impresario, consultant, and muse he seamlessly merges the worlds of art, fashion, literature, media, and music to document and amplify the stories of the emerging and underrepresented via exhibitions, events, and writing. Souleo has collaborated with noteworthy institutions and brands, including New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Brooklyn Public Library/Center for Brooklyn History, Museum of Arts and Design, Columbia University, Barnard College, Newark Museum of Art, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, Nordstrom, and AARP. Souleo’s work has been widely covered in outlets including the Associated Press, NY Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine/The Cut, ESSENCE, EBONY, and NBC. Visit souleouniverse.com to learn more.
