In the winter of 2012, while scouting festival sites, VIA was presented with a pretty wild opportunity - take over an abandoned social club in the heart of East Liberty for a year, fix it up, and show the area one hell of a program. So we did.
With the help of dozens of volunteers we gutted and transformed 6119 Penn Avenue into a treehouse for experimental music, film, performance, live visuals, vogue nights, fundraisers, and more. We hosted close to 100 events featuring everyone from RuPaul's Drag Race stars Jinx Monsoon, Sharon Needles, and Alaska Thvnderfvck to new media darlings Jacob Ciocci, Ryder Ripps, and Jeremy Bailey, with a regular program of club nights, hardcore shows, experimental film, student performances, and more.
Artifacts (flyers, IDs, membership records) removed from the club during renovation shed a light on a important part of Pittsburgh's LGBTQ history. Meticulously archived and exhibited by Harrison Apple for his 2012 BFA Thesis Exhibition at Carnegie Mellon, 6119 served as a jumping off point for what is now the Pittsburgh Queer History Project. PQHP is growing into an extensive queer archaeology of the area from 1940s-present, which received a 2013 Pittsburgh Foundation Grant. Harrison continues his research as a PhD student at Arizona State University in 2015.
