Following up on our post about the rollback of LGBTQ+ rights in the USA, we created a new image: Stonewall '69 — a historical interpretation in the incomparable street art style of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Why Stonewall? Why now?
No Pride without Stonewall
June 28, 1969. The Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street, New York. The police storm the bar, as so often. But this time the gays, the lesbians, the drag queens, and the trans people fight back. They throw coins, bottles, stones. They fight back. For three days the street burns.
Stonewall was the moment when gay people stopped hiding and started fighting for their rights. The modern Pride movement was born that night — not in rainbow colors and glitter, but in anger, defiance, and the refusal to remain invisible any longer.
Without Stonewall, we may never have achieved the freedoms we have today. No marriage equality. No anti-discrimination laws. No Pride parades. No visibility. Stonewall was the spark that ignited the entire LGBTQ+ movement.
Why Basquiat?
Jean-Michel Basquiat painted the street, the struggle, the power of the marginalized. His crowns were not decoration — they were statements: We are kings. We are powerful. We will not be diminished. His raw, expressive street art gave the voiceless a voice.
That is exactly what Stonewall was: A cry of the voiceless. A fight for dignity. A statement of power.
Our historical interpretation shows the street as Basquiat would have painted it. Bright primary colors, rough brushstrokes, graffiti elements, the crown as a symbol. Street art meets historical resistance.
More important than ever right now
At a time when LGBTQ+ rights in the USA are under massive pressure, when creationist fundamentalists are trying to push us back into the closet, it is more important than ever to remember Stonewall.
Stonewall shows: Freedom is not given. It is fought for.
This image is not a nostalgic look back. It is a reminder that we have fought before — and that we will do it again if necessary. It is a statement for visibility, for resistance, for pride.
Edition W. Schwamborn
Stonewall '69 was added to the Edition W. Schwamborn — a collection that makes gay history, culture, and resistance visible. As the author of the Schwulenbuch and an active part of the gay movement, Winfried Schwamborn personally curates this edition: Every image tells a story, every motif has meaning, every work is a contribution to the visibility of gay art.
Edition W. Schwamborn stands for uncompromising queer art — historically grounded, aesthetically ambitious, politically clear.
→ To the image: Stonewall '69 in the Basquiat style
→ To Edition W. Schwamborn
KUNSTWERK BILDER makes gay art visible — right now, right here.
