In 2015, koitz received the Founders Cultural Award, which sponsors under-
represented artists from diverse communities, to produce the exhibition
“Fire Island: Fun in the Sun”, at the Verle Annis Gallery, on the University of
Southern California campus in Los Angeles.
In the spring of 2020, the Basque-American photographer released his first
book, "koitz Gay Fire Island” that covers 14 years of queer life in Cherry Grove
and the Fire Island Pines. That year, curator Elizabeth Avedon included his very
successful book as one of the best photography books of 2020.
Along with Parker Sargent, in 2022 koitz directed the provactive and award-
winning documentary “In the Meat Rack”, about the exciting and sordid
history of the legendary cruising spot. The film premiered at the Cherry Grove
Archives Film Collection Film Festival and has won several awards in festivals
around the world, including the Colossus Film Festival, Rome World Cinema,
Dallas Movie Fest, and the Perth Queer Film Festival.
koitz has been a Cherry Grove resident for over two decades, photographing
the LGBTQIA+ culture of both the Grove and the Pines.
His photos reflect the beauty of the natural environment, the various summer
events and the people that come to Fire Island each year, to celebrate their
sexuality and experience the liberation of being part of a queer community.
An event that is steeped in tradition, this year
we celebrate the 50th Invasion.
Every summer hundreds of campy, glamorous,
kooky and colorful costumed participants pack
the boards and ferries, to celebrate the Fourth
of July and our queer independence.
On March 27, 2015 the Grove Hotel was engulfed in flames and the fire consumed
the entire structure and several nearby houses on Holly Walk.
Because of the hardworking Cherry Grove Fire Department volunteers who keep
watch of the Grove, even in the off-season, the fire was extinguished and many
homes were saved.
The CGFD was incorporated in 1947 by a group of Grove residents who formed a
“bucket brigade” in cases of emergencies. Since that time, the Cherry Grove Fire
Department has grown into a fully accredited, state recognized department.
Every Friday night of the summer season DWorld’s
Underwear Party packs the Ice Palace and turns it
into a sexy and sweaty selection of queers dancing
the night away in as little as possible.
Checking your clothes at the door (and getting a
swag bag) is all part of stepping inside the hottest
LGBTQ+ dance party in all of the land.
In the film “Fire Island”, the Underwear Party is
recreated to capture the excitment and energy
of the popular queer dance party.
But when koitz is photographing all the costumes
and performances, it can be a long hot day that is
very demanding mentally and physically.
Capturing all the revelry requires constant attention
to everything happening around him, and often koitz
finds himself in “compromising positions” to take the
perfect shot.
As the crowds of Invaders prance off the ferry and
into the Pines, it is the moment everyone has been
waiting for, and koitz is hanging off the edge of the
dock, to document the displays of drag, camp,
excitment and glamour.
And some of those experiences include the
biggest names in gay entertainment.
While he travels the world shooting in exotic locations and incredibly elaborate parties, there is no comparison to the house parties and social gatherings that he has been lucky enough to capture with his lens.
