RESISTANCE IS QUEER
Street Art by Dusty Rebel aka Daniel Albanese.

Out In The Streets, Mural, June 2020

When I began planning this wall, most Pride events had been canceled and I had thought we would spend most of June still isolated in our apartments. This mural became my way of celebrating the queer community and our long history of using the street for performance and protest. The mural features photos taken at historic moments I've had the honored of capturing: NYC Drag March, kiss-ins, Gays Against Guns, Queer Liberation March, The Dyke March.
On June 1st, as I put up this wall, an explosion of activist energy was unleashed with the Black Lives Matter protests that roared through the streets. For me, one of the most powerful moments I experienced this month was at the Black Trans Lives Matter rally outside the Brooklyn Museum. Everyone in white. The silence. Then the melodic claps. That was some serious queer magic. 
So I’m very thankful I got to fill this space with so many queer icons, mentors, activists, and friends who stood watch this month as thousands of protesters reclaimed the streets around them. Never forget the power of being out in the streets.
Resistance Is Queer x Keep Fighting — Sister Lotti Da
SoHo, NYC (June 2019)
Last year at our MoMA PS1 talk, I said, “Every expression of queer existence is a revolutionary act.” That’s why this Resistance Is Queer poster features activist Sister Lotti Da, The Merry Sodomite, of the Missionary Order of Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. This was taken during the casting of the circle at the 2018 NYC Drag March, which reminds me how beautiful it is when queer people take space and celebrate our lives.  
Resistance Is Queer x Keep Fighting — Dick Leitsch, Ad Takeover, June 2019
This Resistance Is Queer poster features a photograph I took of Dick Leitsch at the 52nd anniversary of the historic “Sip-In” at Julius’ Bar in the West Village. Leitsch—president of gay rights group the Mattachine Society in the 1960s—was one of the four homosexuals that led a pioneering act of civil disobedience to secure the right of gay patrons to be served in a licensed bar, helping to clear the way for gay bars to operate openly in New York State. Dick Leitsch passed away in 2018, at the age of 83.
Resistance Is Queer x Keep Fighting — Ms Colombia
SoHo, NYC (June 2019)
This Resistance Is Queer poster features a photograph I took of the beloved Ms Colombia at the 2015 Easter Parade, who sadly passed away in 2018. This excerpt from The New York Times summarizes many of my thoughts on Ms Colombia: 
“Daniel Albanese, a street photographer who often shot her, said that Gómez was loved because she resisted classification, refusing to soften her queerness, her personality or her aesthetic, even as the reputation and culture of the city mellowed out. ‘For me, Ms. Colombia was the embodiment of liberation,” he said. “She showed us how to thrive in the unique environment that is New York and proved this city is still a place where those who feel marginalized can flourish and be celebrated.’” — Ms. Colombia Refused to Soften Her Queerness. She Paraded It, The New York Times Magazine, 12/28/2018
Resistance Is Queer x Keep Fighting — I Like Dick. I Like Taters. Not Dictators 
SoHo, NYC (June 2019)
This Resistance Is Queer poster features a photograph I took at the LGBT Solidarity Rally outside the Stonewall Inn on February 4, 2017. Thousands gathered for the demonstration to stand with “every immigrant, asylum seeker, refugee and every person impacted by Donald Trump’s illegal, immoral, unconstitutional and un-American executive orders.” 
Resistance Is Queer — Hope Will Never Be Silent
Greenwich Village, NYC (June 2017)
This is the very first Resistance Is Queer poster, featuring a photograph from the 2016 NYC Drag March. The back tattoo—“Hope Will Never Be Silent”—is a quote from Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California. Milk was assassinated the day I was born, just under 11 months in office.
Resistance Is Queer — "Trans Is Beauty Y'All!" 
Chelsea, NYC (June 2017)
Part of my series of ad takeovers for NYC Pride, a spinoff from Resistance Is Female: a photo from an emergency rally at Stonewall Inn. Thousands gathered in response to Trump’s executive order to rescind federal guidelines, and disallow transgender students the right to use the bathroom of their choice. (Chelsea, NYC)
Resistance Is Queer — "Nobody Knows I’m A Lesbian" / Edie Windsor
Greenwich Village, NYC (June 2017)
This series was done in collaboration with the artist collective Resistance Is Female, and features my photography of Edie Windsor leading the 2016 Dyke March. Windsor’s 2013 Supreme Court case struck down DOMA, helping to bring marriage equality to all 50 states.
Resistance Is Female
East Village, NYC (April 2017)
My first ad takeover, which was done in collaboration with the artist collective Resistance Is Female. This ad takeover was the inspiration for my spinoff series, Resistance Is Queer. Featured is my photograph from the 2017 Emergency Rally for Muslim and Immigrant Rights in Washington Square Park. 

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