RYAN FITZGIBBON'S
A GREAT GAY BOOK LAUNCH PARTY
This celebration of queer art is free and recommended for attendees comfortable with mature content
Magic City Books, Tulsa Artist Fellowship, and Abrams Books present a celebration of the much-anticipated launch of Ryan Fitzgibbon's A Great Gay Book: Stories of Growth, Belonging & Other Queer Possibilities. Join us Monday, May 20, from 6 - 9 pm at Philbrook Museum of Art. The evening will include food by Et al. and Prism Cafe and performances by Cowboy Crooner, Andrew Sa, and writer Mathew Rodriguez. This event is free and open to the public. Copies of A Great Gay Book will be available at the event, but to ensure you don't miss out, we suggest you preorder!
A Great Gay Book: Stories of Growth, Belonging & Other Queer Possibilities is a gorgeously designed collection of art, essays, short fiction, poetry, interviews, profiles, and photography from the archives of the beloved queer magazine Hello Mr., as well as new material from many of today's biggest LGBTQ+ creatives.
Hello Mr. was founded by Ryan Fitzgibbon in 2012. Over its ten-issue lifespan, the groundbreaking indie magazine became the first home for some of the most prestigious queer voices of a generation. With more than a decade's devotion and the publishing prowess of Abrams, Fitzgibbon has created an astonishing reminder of our collective power in A Great Gay Book.
Notable artists and writers featured include Jeremy Atherton Lin, Lady Bunny, Alexander Chee, Garth Greenwell, Saeed Jones, Wesley Morris, Chani Nicholas, Tommy Pico, Brontez Purnell, LJ Roberts, Mathew Rodriguez, Antwaun Sargent, Fran Tirado, Ocean Vuong, Bryan Washington, John Waters, Kehinde Wiley, J Wortham, Hanya Yanagihara, and many more.
Image: A Great Gay Book: Stories of Growth, Belonging & Other Queer Possibilities, 2024; Courtesy of Abrams Books
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ryan Fitzgibbon is an artist and publisher. After beginning as a communication designer at IDEO in San Francisco, California, he founded Hello Mr. in 2012. Fitzgibbon self-published the magazine from Brooklyn, New York, before moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in January 2020. Shortly after arriving, he was diagnosed with HIV at the height of the pandemic. These events inspired his creation of In Our Blood, a platform to detect, exercise, and replenish your inner activist. In addition to organizing to protect LGBTQ+ rights and expanding HIV/AIDS care and prevention in Oklahoma, his work includes supporting the Black Wall Street Times through the production of multiple print publications and the opening of their newsroom and storefront in Greenwood. Fitzgibbon is a 2021-2023 awardee of the Tulsa Artist Fellowship.
Image: Ryan Fitzgibbon, 2024; Photograph by Rogelio Esparza, Courtesy of Abrams Books
MORE INFORMATION
Tulsa Artist Fellowship strives to provide a welcoming and accessible experience. Our exhibitions and events are free, documented, and archived. For inquiries about accessibility or requests for accommodations, contact philbrook.org/contact.
To learn more about Tulsa Artist Fellowship programming, please follow our social media channels on Instagram and Facebook or sign up for our public emails at tulsaartistfellowship.org.