Upcoming exhibition at The Getty Research Institute, June 10 to September 28, 2025

Pages of my book I Kill You in Dreams will be part of the exhibition $3 Bill: Evidence of Queer Lives in LA next summer!

The Getty Research Institute (GRI) is mounting an exhibition in our galleries entitled $3 Bill: Evidence of Queer Lives, which will be on view from June 10 to September 28, 2025. The title derives from a small piece of ephemera in the GRI collections, a $3 bill distributed during the 1981 Pride Parade in San Francisco. It bears portraits of two queer icons, Bessie Smith, the “Empress of the Blues,” and gay rights activist and local politician Harvey Milk. This imaginary currency offers a fictive yet powerful vision of intergenerational, interracial alliance, and reclaims the old, ignorant saying “queer as a $3 bill” as an expression of pride and freedom.

Curated by Pietro Rigolo, Associate Curator for Modern and Contemporary Collections, the exhibition will highlight the presence of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) artists, activists and communities from the last one hundred years in the GRI holdings. Emphasis will be placed on works that address sexual and gender identity, gay rights, and historical events that had a significant impact on queer communities. The show will have a focused and important objective: underscoring that historical contributions by queer artists and intellectuals are ubiquitous and key to understanding the past and present. A celebration of excellent and resilience, it will be a timely offering in the current social and political climate which has become increasingly hostile for the LGBTQ+ community in recent years.

Image curtesy of The Getty Research Institute (GRI)