NYPAC, the New York Performance Artists Collective, is thrilled to announce our first benefit gala, honoring the legendary writer, singer, painter, and performance artist Mx Justin Vivian Bond, to be held on Wednesday, October 22nd at downtown institution The Cock. This is an especially fitting venue for Mx Bond, who performed at The Cock’s original 12th Street location every Saturday, and was the first performer to christen its current – and soon to be former – incarnation. This benefit will be an opportunity to celebrate both Mx Bond and the history of the East Village and Lower East Side, which have been so actively intertwined.
Nominated for a Tony Award for Kiki and Herb Alive On Broadway in 2007, and the recipient of both an Obie and Bessie, Mx Bond has been an influential figure for a new generation of LGBTQ performance artists, many of whom we’ve supported over the past two years. We’re thrilled to honor Mx Bond, who has done so much for queer visibility, dedicating significant time and resources to maintaining diversity in the downtown performance art scene. Join us from 7-10 pm with cocktails and performances by artists Joseph Keckler and Erin Markey. Following the gala, stick around for the after-party, with music by Juliana Huxtable and DJ Sammy Jo, and site-specific projections and performance by Casey Legler.
Mx Justin Vivian Bond is a writer, singer, painter, and performance artist. Mx Bond is the author of the Lambda Literary Award winning memoir TANGO: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels, published by The Feminist Press and Susie Says… a collaboration with Gina Garan (Powerhouse Books, 2012). V’s debut CD DENDRPOPHILE was self-released on WhimsyMusic in 2011 and was followed by SILVER WELLS in 2012. In 2011 Justin Vivian’s art exhibition The Fall of the House of Whimsy was presented at Participant Inc. in New York City. Mx Bond was nominated for a Tony Award for Kiki and Herb Alive On Broadway in 2007. Other notable theatrical endeavors include starring as Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis in Scott Wittman’s production of Jukebox Jackie: Snatches of Jackie Curtis as part of La Mama E.T.C.’s 50 Anniversary Season, originating the role of Herculine Barbin in Kate Bornstein’s groundbreaking play Hidden: A Gender, touring with the performance troupe The Big Art Group and appearing in John Cameron Mitchell’s film Shortbus. Other films include Sunset Stories (2012), Imaginary Heroes (2004), and Fanci’s Persuasion (1995). Mx Bond is a recipient of The Ethyl Eichelberger Award, The Peter Reed Foundation Grant, and The Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award for Performance Art/Theater, an Obie and a Bessie.
Honorary Chair: Ben Rodriguez-Cubeñas. Co-Chairs: Paul Bernstein, Justin Conner, Luke Kalat, Michael Crisafulli & Morton Newburgh, Alfred Gillio<, Alexander Gorlin, Charles Renfro, Brent Sikkema. Benefit Committee: Luke P. Brown, Michael Bullock, Samuel Cochran, Christopher Davis, Alexander Galan, Ryan Bradshaw Greene, Pati Hertling, Matthew Lyons, Ryan McNally, Adam Whitney Nichols, Jay Pagano, Carl Swanson, Kendall Werts. All photos: Gerard Garvey.
