Hudson County Community College to Hold Multifaceted Evening Featuring an Annual Event Honoring the Legacy of the Late Georgia Brooks
February 26, 2018
Evening of March 2 includes the closing reception/masquerade party for Out on Broadway: A Visual Legacy exhibit, and Kinky Boots ticket giveaway.
February 26, 2018, JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Department of Cultural Affairs has planned an exciting evening for Friday, March 2, 2018.
The community is invited to visit Hudson County Community College on Friday, March 2 as the Department of Cultural Affairs hosts the closing reception for the Out on Broadway: A Visual Legacy exhibition, curated by Jim Crochet; presents an all-star lineup of Indie Female Film Screenings at HCCC, organized by Delaney Buffett; and celebrates the life of Georgia Brooks. Attendees may also enter to win two commentary tickets to Kinky Boots. This event is also part of JC Fridays, a free quarterly citywide arts festival in Jersey City, presented by Art House Productions. The event is free and open to the public.
Each year, Hudson County Community College celebrates the legacy of Georgia Brooks. Born and raised in rural Georgia, Ms. Brooks moved to New York at the age of 18. A longtime activist, she was involved in several black lesbian community groups in New York and New Jersey, including Jemima Writers Collective, African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change (formerly known as Salsa Soul Sisters), and the Committee for the Visibility of Other Black Women – the first black lesbian conference on the East Coast. She was also on the first board of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, and was part of the Lesbian Herstory Archives collective.
Ms. Brooks began working at HCCC in 1986. She was instrumental in creating the computer lab where she became the Academic Lab Manager until she retired. Ms. Brooks was also an active advisor for the Gay-Straight Alliance and established the Georgia M. Brooks Family Scholarship to help students in need of financial assistance.
Ms. Brooks passed away in November 2013. Her inspirational work and advocacy lives on in all who knew her and in the next generations who learn about her.
From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on March 2, the College will hold the closing reception of the popular exhibit, Out on Broadway: A Visual Legacy. The closing reception is also a masquerade party and is open, free of charge to the entire community. Attendees are invited to dress in their favorite Broadway costume. Light refreshments will be served, and there will be a drawing for two tickets to Kinky Boots at 7:30 p.m.
The Out on Broadway: A Visual Legacy exhibit, which was curated by James E. Crochet, highlights the legacy of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender experience on Broadway and features award-winning costumes from shows like Cabaret, The Boy from Oz, Follies, Grey Gardens, Hairspray, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Kinky Boots, La Cage aux Folles, Mame, The Producers, Rent and Side Show.
Filmmaker Delaney Buffett has put together an all-star lineup of short films by female filmmakers in collaboration with the Hudson County Community College Department of Cultural Affairs. Film shorts include First Match, Kid Warrior: The Xiuhtezcatl Martinez Story, New Deep South: Kayla, Run Mama Run, and The Spring .
The Benjamin J. Dineen, III and Dennis C. Hull Gallery is located on the sixth floor at 71 Sip Avenue in Jersey City – just across the street from the Journal Square PATH Transit Center. Rotating exhibitions can be viewed Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Gallery is closed Sundays and holidays.
More information may be obtained by contacting HCCC Cultural Affairs Director Michelle Vitale at mvitaleFREEHUDSONCOUNTYCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE, or by phoning (201) 360-4176.