History Fort Lauderdale To Present TAKE PRIDE! Photo Exhibit at Galleria Fort Lauderdale in June

In honor of PRIDE Month (June 2023), History Fort Lauderdale will present "Take PRIDE! A Retrospective of LGBTQ Life in South Florida." This impactful exhibit will chronicle the gay rights movement and the significant migration of LGBTQ community members to South Florida which has contributed to the success of its vibrant arts and culture, business, media, and political landscape. A ticketed opening reception at Galleria Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, May 31, at 6 p.m., serving as an official Stonewall PRIDE Month event, will recognize pioneers such as City of Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, Visit Lauderdale's Senior Vice President of Inclusion & Accessibility Richard Gray, South Florida Symphony Orchestra's Music Director/Founder Sebrina María Alfonso, WSVN Channel 7 Anchor Craig Stevens, South Florida SunSentinel Journalist Rod Stafford Hagwood, renowned entertainer Tiffany Arieagus, Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus Founder Gary Keating, and Founder of The Copa and entrepreneur John Castelli. This historic exhibit will be on public display at Galleria Fort Lauderdale during the entire month of June.

"History Fort Lauderdale is proud to support and showcase the valuable legacies of our LGBTQ businesses and influential leaders across a variety of disciplines who have worked to make our great city an ideal place to live, work, and play," said Patricia Zeiler, executive director of History Fort Lauderdale. "Now, more than ever, education and tolerance are paramount as we continue to build upon these accomplishments, safeguard our progress and move forward to ensure that Fort Lauderdale remains a welcoming place to live and visit for all...during PRIDE month and beyond."

Through historical photographs, media stories, videos and costumes, visitors will learn about the storied rise of PRIDE and the growth of the LGBTQ community in South Florida. The exhibit will trace the growth, awareness and struggle of the LGBTQ community from early sentiments in the 1940s to present day. Detailed by decade will be laws, restrictions and regulations, education, cultural components including the influence of the drag community. Photos will capture the liberation movement of the 1960s and '70s, the activism and rise of PRIDE parades and human rights rallies and the proliferation of gay-centric world-famous business endeavors including the Marlin Beach Hotel, The Copa, Backstreet and more.

The exhibit will also include a Photo Tribute Wall featuring an array of lifestyle and significant event photos from Michael Murphy Photography. In addition, it will include the showing of "Open Dialogues," an award-winning short film which captures the personal narratives of LGBTQ voices, produced by Art and Culture Center Hollywood, directed by Miami-based filmmaker Freddy Rodriguez, and funded by Community Foundation of Broward.

"Galleria Fort Lauderdale is a proud co-presenter of this historical activation that will recognize PRIDE month," said Melissa Milroy, senior marketing manager of Galleria Fort Lauderdale. "We welcome everyone under the sun to join us in saluting local pioneers and learning how our destination has become a mecca for LGBTQ residents and visitors."

Additional contributions to the exhibit are courtesy of Stonewall National Museum and Archives, World AIDS Museum and Educational Center, History Miami, Wilton Manors Historical Society, and Key West Art & Historical Society.

History Fort Lauderdale's "Take PRIDE! A Retrospective of LGBTQ Life in South Florida" is sponsored by Galleria Fort Lauderdale, Castelli Real Estate Services, OutClique, HotSpots Media Group/Happening Out Television Network and GPR | Goodman Public Relations.

Tickets for the May 31 preview reception/official Stonewall Pride Month event are $35 and are available at https://bit.ly/HFLTakePride2023. Special performances will be announced at a later date.

The exhibition will be free and open to the public during mall hours from June 1 - 30, located near Swarovski, between Macy's and Dillard's.

History Fort Lauderdale is home to a variety of engaging multicultural experiences, year-round. Permanent exhibits include "From Dugouts to Dream Yachts," a visual narrative weaving the story of the ever-changing use of Fort Lauderdale's waterways by following the strokes of the first people to today's sightseers, "The Bryans of Fort Lauderdale" which allows visitors to experience the story of the City of Fort Lauderdale as told through the pioneer family that shaped its development from an agricultural outpost in 1896 to a bustling city in the 1920s to its current status as a leading Metropolis, "Juliette Lange: A Portrait of a Mezzo Soprano," a fashion and lifestyle glimpse of the socially prominent Fort Lauderdale resident with a lauded career as a star vocalist of musical comedy, plus "Archaeology of the New River" and a multitude of stories and photos sharing the history of other founding families of Fort Lauderdale. The nonprofit museum also hosts art, artifacts, traveling exhibits and an artists' collective collaborative space.

For more information about History Fort Lauderdale, please call (954) 463-4431 or visit historyfortlauderdale.org. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/ftlhistory, on Instagram @ftlhistory and on Twitter @FTLHistory. Subscribe to us on YouTube at youtube.com/user/FTLhistory.

History Fort Lauderdale

History Fort Lauderdale, celebrating 61 years of being the proud steward of our community's past by making our heritage accessible and engaging to residents and visitors, brings the stories of our diverse community to life through engaging educational experiences, innovative cultural exhibits, research and preservation of artifacts. Guests to Fort Lauderdale are invited to explore the city's rich past that is housed in historic buildings on a lushly landscaped campus - the History Museum of Fort Lauderdale situated in the 1905 New River Inn, the 1907 Pioneer House Museum, the 1899 Ivy Cromartie Schoolhouse Museum and the Hoch Research Library, South Florida's foremost history center housing print resources and newspapers from 1910 - present plus 400,000 archival photos, 2,500 maps and 5,000 architectural blueprints. History Fort Lauderdale is located at 231 SW Second Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are available online at http://bit.ly/HistoryFortLauderdaleTickets. History Fort Lauderdale is a nonprofit agency supported by memberships, grants and charitable contributions.

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