Seventieth Birthday Celebration

Written By Allison Wyper

William celebrated his seventieth birthday in May 2021 at Groundswell.

For months prior, he assembled and mounted his last art installation — a bedroom whose walls were filled with photos of the beloved dead, of friends and special occasions, of Martha’s Vineyard, of gay art. It was an altar honoring a lifetime of love, loss, and learning.

William and I spent hours getting him dressed just right for the video. First, we choose a dressy dress in a conservative color appropriate for a Queen on a formal but not state occasion. Then the right amount and placement of jewelry. Finally, the sash and medals. We studied William’s postcards and photos of Queen Elizabeth II so that the medals would be attached in just the right location relative to the sash and the bosom, as befits a true queen. —Janaia Donaldson


Photos by Devlin Shand

Allison Wyper
I am an interdisciplinary artist with over a decade of experience providing administrative, marketing, and production support for artists and creative professionals nationwide. I founded Rhizomatic Arts to provide affordable professional consulting, training, and services to independent creatives and small companies. Rhizomatic Arts takes a holistic approach to creative sustainability, supporting the cultural eco-system on a grassroots, person-to-person level, empowering artists to take charge of their own careers within a supportive network of peers. Our Sustainability Network connects creatives with skills and resources to share, via a mutually-supportive gift economy. Our motto: "work independently, not alone."
http://rhizomaticarts.com
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William’s Final Journey