Join us for our third annual Queer Elder History Panel at Dorothy. This Pride season Gerber/Hart and the LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project are partnering to bring the younger and older generations together in dialogue about queerness over time.
Join us for a panel discussion with Pat McCombs, Carmen Garcia, Terri Worman, and Lizzie Maricich, four incredible LGBTQ+ elders, moderated by Dialogue Project co-founder Karen Morris and hosted by Gerber/Hart volunteer Kaitlyn Griffith.
Accompanied by a pop-up display of materials from Gerber/Hart's LGBTQ+ library & archives. Followed by Q&A & mingling! Stay for karaoke that starts at 9pm. Celebrate Pride in community with our elders at Dorothy!
Doors for this event are at 6pm and our panel will begin at 7pm. Tickets are priced on a sliding scale of $15, $20 and $25 and proceeds are shared with our panelists, Gerber/Hart and our lounge. If tickets are available, they will be $25 at the door.
Please note: This event will be recorded night of in order to be filed with Gerber/Hart history and use of its happening in the archive.
Dorothy is 21+ and all guests are required to show a physical ID upon entry. Dorothy is ADA accessible with elevator access on Campbell Avenue. If you are a guest who requires elevator access, please wait by the black doors on Campbell Ave and call our staff to assist: 773-770-3799.
Please note: refund requests are only accepted until 24h before the event (6/19, 7pm). No other refund requests will be honored.
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ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS AND PARTICIPANTS
Pat McCombs, 76, is best known for her joint venture with Vera Washington in forming "Executive Sweet" a southside born social organization promoting travel and large party productions throughout the year. McCombs has served on various boards and steering committees. In 1999, she and Executive Sweet were honored by the Chicago Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce with an historic achievement award. McCombs continues to work tirelessly for the rights and inclusion of WOC in all aspects of the LGBTQ community and is a staunch advocate for the safety and welfare of LGBTQ youth.
Carmen Garcia, 73, grew up on the West Side of Chicago and worked as a graphic artist and silk-screen printer. She has been a volunteer at the Senior Center (serving LGBTQ+ older adults) at Center on Halsted for a number of years, and is a strong supporter of the residents at the LGBTQ+ friendly Town Hall Apartments for older adults. Carmen participated in the LGBTQ+ Intergenergenerational Dialogue Project in 2023-2024 and especially enjoyed creating art with LGBTQ+ young adults.
Terri Worman, 69, is a feminist, pro-choice lesbian activist and classically trained violinist who loves women’s music and women’s community! She has been working on LGBTQ+ aging issues for over 25 years here in Chicago, across Illinois, and nationwide. Terri has been with her partner, Paula Basta, for 22 years. They got married in 2018. She loves being a part of the LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project.
Lizzie Maricich, 70, is a lifelong resident of the city. Two fundamental truths were deeply woven into her life: she always knew she was an artist, and she always knew she was a girl—even though she wasn’t identified as one at birth. She has since become the person she was meant to be—a human being who lives authentically and unapologetically.
Karen Morris, 51, is a lesbian mother, cultural anthropologist, and co-founder of The LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project. She is a Professor in the Department of Visual & Critical Studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Karen is interested in experimental, community-based collaborative research, pedagogy, and social justice work. She also loves playing pranks on people she cares about.
Kaitlyn Griffith, 33, is an archivist whose work centers people’s history. As a volunteer at Gerber/Hart, Kaitlyn is working on a living collection with Dorothy to preserve video recordings of live performances. Collections like this defend queer history and identity in the face of drag bans, censorship, and revisionist history. Storytelling and intergenerational connection hold a special place in her heart, and she is honored to be a part of this extraordinary event.
The LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project is a Chicago-based project that brings together racially, socioeconomically, and gender diverse cohorts of LGBTQ+ younger and older adults (60+) for a year-long series of bi-weekly themed dialogues, collaborative art-making, and shared meals. The project is a hybrid community/education/research partnership between LGBTQ+ faculty members at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Illinois Chicago, and University of Chicago and the Pride in Aging Program at Center on Halsted (the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ+ Community Center). To date, over 160 people have participated in the project.
In April, they hosted their 3rd annual intergenerational art exhibition featuring work by twenty-eight participants. The art work in this exhibition is rooted in a commitment to continuing our history and inspired by visits to Gerber Hart LGBTQ+ Library & Archives. Participants chose the title of the exhibition, “Resisting Erasure,” accompanied by the following statement: In a political moment where we are witnessing renewed unabashed transphobic and homophobic legislation, we as an engaged community of queer artists, activists, and scholars draw on our collaborative artistic practices to remind everyone that we’ve been here, we’ve always been here, and we refuse attempts to erase us.
Gerber/Hart is a LGBTQ+ library and archives located in the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. Founded in 1981, Gerber/Hart is one of the largest repositories of LGBTQ+ content in the world. Gerber/Hart is a 501(c)3 non-profit and focuses on collecting, preserving, and making accessible the LGBTQ history and culture of Chicago and the Midwest.
Open to everyone, Gerber/Hart is dedicated to promoting research, learning, exploration, and discovery in an atmosphere that reflects the diversity of the communities that it serves.
Learn more at gerberhart.org or by following @gerberhart on Instagram and Facebook. And for a deep dive into some of the amazing collections at Gerber/Hart, listen in to their podcast Unboxing Queer History!