Never Can Say Goodbye

“Never Can Say Goodbye" is a sound and performance installation created in collaboration with Brandon Kazen-Maddox that reckons with what Pier 45, or Christopher St Pier was: a queer center for cruising, community, connection, and art. Before its demolition in the 1980’s, its dangerous, dilapidated structure was frequented by gay men from a wide range of economic classes, races, and abilities at all hours of the day. In this work, a constellation of intimate, ghostly choreographies unfolds while a soundtrack features academic historiographies, literary writings, disco, and the performers’ own thoughts about the pier’s longlasting impact on queer life.

Featuring writings by Fiona Anderson (Cruising the Dead River), David Wojnarowicz (The Waterfront Journals), and Edmund White (Nocturnes for the King of Naples).

Performed as a part of A+J Summer Happenings Festival on Christopher St Pier (June 2023)