Our Stories, Our Songs
In spring 2025 we held workshops with Queens Center for Gay Seniors members and members at Generation Q, a drop-in center for LGBTQIA+ youth. During the workshops we explored our stories, the history of LGBTQIA+ activism in Queens and New York City, and created protest chants and songs. The workshops culminated in a community sing at the World’s Borough Bookshop in Jackson Heights where we shared what we had created. At Queens Pride in Jackson Heights, we shared our chants and songs along the parade route, marching with Generation Q. We plan to continue the collaboration, building out the song cycle and further building our relationships.
Creative Team:
- Co-Directors/Facilitators: Ania Upstill and Meranda Flachs-Surmanek
- Creative Partners:
- Patrick Lin at the Queens Center for Gay Seniors
- Bo-Andrea Bogats, Felicity Flores, Riley, and Ligaiya Romero at Generation Q Youth Center
- Musician/Composer: Will Shishmanian
- Musican Arrangement: Sean Ivy
This project was made possible in part with funding from Social Practice CUNY and with public funds from the Queens Arts Fund in 2026, a re-grant program supported by NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.
Events
Making & Meaning of Pride + Community Sing at World’s Borough Bookshop
34-06 73rd St, Jackson Heights, NY 11372
Saturday, June 6th, 6:00 PM
At the Community Sing, we invited our local community to come learn the songs and chants that we had creating in our workshops, joining us to sing and chant with us in preparation for Queens Pride the following day. We also opened up discussion about participation in Queens Pride. Can we hold space across generations to have our multiple conflicting stories and relationships to Pride? Queens Pride, like many mainstream Pride events across the U.S., platforms the police, uplifts corporations, and chooses silence in the face of genocide. Let’s talk across generation gaps about our relationships with the second oldest and second largest pride parade in NYC.
Design by Monica Rocha
Image courtesy of the artist
Photo courtesy of the artist
Photo courtesy of Anisa Hodzic & Edina Hoti
Ania Upstill and Will Shishmanian. Photo by Meranda Flachs-Surmanek.
Image courtesy of the artist