The Cherry Grove Archives Collection is working year-round to showcase our history and secure funding to aid in our mission to collect, preserve and present the colorful history of our queer community.
We are excited to announce the "Safe/haven: Gay Life in 1950s Cherry Grove" is being presented this season for a two week period, beginning the weekend of Grove Gay Pride (June 29th, 2024).
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The Cherry Grove Archives Collection is proud to announce our upcoming photography exhibition, Safe/haven: Gay Life in 1950's Cherry Grove, at the Stonewall National Museum & Archives Wilton Manors Gallery in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
The CGAC has put together a "virtual tour" of the exhibition, to share this incredible piece of LGBTQ+ history with everyone around the world.
During our recent Cherry Grove Archives Collection Film Festival we premiered our first series of short films produced to document our community history, through interviews with longtime residents and archival material. We're pleased to make these films available online, with our new Vimeo page.
Now you can watch the CGAC Production films on your computer or smart devices.
The drag parody "Camille", shot in Cherry Grove in 1953, was shown to a sold out crowd at the Whitney Museum Friday November 30th, 2018.
It was listed on many art sites as "top art events of the week" in NYC!
The CGAC received a canister from Grove resident Jack Davidson, not knowing that the celluloid treasure would become an instant iconic classic. Credited as being some of the earliest footage of drag performers in a full length feature (in a time when drag was still illegal), the film also stars well known artist Otto Fenn.
The Whitney was excited to screen "Camille" as a special evening presentation of the Andy Warhol Exhibit, because of Fenn's personal relationship with Warhol and their influence on queer culture through the 50's and 60's.
In July 2018, the Cherry Grove Archives Collection was selected to participate in the LIU Palmer School of Library and Information Science's "Digitizing Local History Sources" Grant, funded by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation Information for Historical Societies. Under the direction of LIU Professor Dr. Gregory Hunter, this grant provides fellowships for master's and doctoral students to conduct project activities for local LI historical societies and archives, including the digitizing of materials, either on-site or at scanning facilities located on the LIU campus in Greenvale, NY.
CGAC is fortunate to have the cost of scanning a portion of our Archives memorabilia covered by this grant and to benefit from Dr. Hunter's expertise in organizing the metadata associated with these scans. Newly scanned images will be uploaded to the storage site Preservica, the fees for which will be covered by the Gardiner Grant until at least 2022.
The Cherry Grove Archives Collection Film Festival (CGACFF) is a cinematic celebration of Cherry Grove's proud 170-year history.
While this event is a vital fundraiser for the Archives' operating and digitizing costs, our goal is to bring people together to both educate and celebrate.
Our beautiful beach community has supported and nurtured LGBTQ artists, performers and musicians since it began, which is why we are dedicated to presenting films that bring history to life. It's vital that we don't forget our past, and by taking a look back at where we've come from, we may have a better vision of the future. The festival is our way of sharing the archival films, current documentaries and experimental works that reflect Cherry Grove from our extraordinary past to our colorful present.
The Cherry Grove Archives Committee (CGAC) has diligently been preserving everything from 8 millimeter films to family albums- all donated by members of the community who have graciously decided to share their lives and experiences.
CGACFF (hosted every two years) is a collection of documentaries, short films and restored masterpieces that were filmed on Fire Island. By preserving memorabilia and artifacts from the Grove's amazing history, we are able to select pieces that are both educational and exciting. A gay community that is covered in camp, Cherry Grove has its roots deep in activism and equality.
Through our festival we also seek to showcase works from queer communities around the globe. We hope to present everything from films about beach life to activism, individuality and the pursuit of equality.
There are many aspects to archiving the history of Cherry Grove, and the CGAC hopes we not only capture the life of the Grove, we also aim to contribute.To start off the season, several Committee members funded a revitalization of a landmark in our town, the Cherry Grove postoffice.
With a fresh paint job and a new sign, its a wonderful way to greet everyone as they arrive off the ferry.Taking time to preserve our history is the best way to keep our community strong and continue the legacy of those who worked so hard to make the Grove wonderful.
