Unidentified photographer, Gladys Bentley, 1946-1949, a Black drag performer wearing a white tuxedo and top hat. Gelatin silver print. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

The Gay Harlem Renaissance

October 10, 2025 - March 8, 2026

A thrilling exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in the richness of Black LGBTQ+ life in the 1920s and 1930s.

To mark the centennial of The New Negro—the groundbreaking 1925 anthology of poetry, essays, and art edited by Alain Locke—The Gay Harlem Renaissance invites visitors to immerse themselves in the richness of Black LGBTQ+ life in the 1920s and 1930s.

This exhibition recognizes that Locke and many of the best-known writers and artists he championed were gay or bisexual, and it explores the queer mentorship and gay-inclusive salons and friendship circles that helped sustain the Harlem Renaissance. It takes visitors to Harlem’s posh segregated nightclubs, where LGBTQ+ singers and dancers lit up the stages for white downtowners—and to its modest rent parties and cellar speakeasies, where lesbian, bisexual and transmasculine blues queens sang for gay and straight working-class Harlemites partying together. Throughout, it provides a sweeping portrait of Harlem after the First World War, when the Great Migration of Black Southerners, Caribbean migrants, activists, writers, painters, and performers transformed the neighborhood into the dynamic new capital of Black America.

Uniting painting, sculpture, artifacts, documents, photographs, and music from collections across the country, The Gay Harlem Renaissance celebrates the creativity, innovation, and resilience of Black LGBTQ+ Harlemites in the face of racist pressures and homophobic laws.

The exhibition is curated by lead curator Allison Robinson, associate curator of history exhibitions; with Anne Lessy, assistant curator of history exhibitions and academic engagement; with Rebecca Klassen, curator of material culture and decorative arts, contributing; and with George Chauncey, author of Gay New York and DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University, as chief historian.

Lead support for The Gay Harlem Renaissance is provided by the Mellon Foundation. Important support is provided by Pamela and David Hornik.

Exhibitions at The New York Historical are made possible by Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, the Saunders Trust for American History, the Evelyn & Seymour Neuman Fund, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. WNET is the media sponsor.