Queer histories are often hidden in plain sight. Look no further than the infamous Chelsea Hotel in New York City, a formerly revolutionary space that now lies invisible in one of Manhattan’s most expensive boroughs. Its red brick walls were home to a myriad of queer practices and experiments that have repeatedly been downplayed, erased or forgotten by both mainstream and alternative histories of the city. In analysing the Chelsea’s trajectory from 19th-century communal apartment building to its ultimate demise under the pressures of 21st-century capitalism, this workshop aims to understand how queerness generated and invigorated the hotel’s radical potential. Expect tales of an urban experimental Mecca frequented by queer icons such as Jack Kerouac, Gore Vidal, Robert Mapplethorpe and Stormé DeLarverie.

The second half of the workshop will turn its focus towards London, aiming to draw parallels between the Chelsea and London’s past and current histories. Are there any spaces in London that emulate the Chelsea's commitment to alternative and queer modes of existence? Is there any way a new Chelsea Hotel could emerge today? Is it possible to re-invent the Chelsea in post-Brexit London? If so, what would it look like? The workshop will conclude with an exercise in imagining and debating the potential of a queer future where spaces like the Chelsea abound.

Iris Pintiuta obtained her BA and MA from King’s College London, specialising in 20th-century American studies. Currently, she is writing a book based on her graduate thesis which traced the cultural implications and signification of the word ‘it’ from 1920s Hollywood stars and Beat novels to Ronald Reagan speeches, Nike ads and contemporary horror films. Her wider research focuses on queer experimental spaces and practices. She hopes to focus her doctorate studies on the complex network of queer female artists living and working in 1960s New York City.