A Queer Park :: Ryan Leitner

A Queer Park is a an exploration into what it means to have queer
visibility our city of New Orleans. After years of researching queer
monuments and public spaces, I’ve come to an understanding of
how queer sites of memory and representation is received by the
public in western culture and why or when that reception is met
with violence or discord. This exhibition lays out the different
projects that have led to this proposed park, my research on
queer public monuments and spaces, and what a queer public
site in New Orleans could one day look like.

This Queer Park project for the city of New Orleans is designed
for the many LGBTQ+ residence tourists that enjoy what the big
easy has to offer. Traditionally known as a ‘gay haven’, New
Orleans has shaped Queer history in America from The Upstairs
Lounge to Big Freedia, but it hasn’t always been accepting of that
label. With anti-LGBTQ+ bills and discrimination on the rise
throughout the south, this park is an opportunity to remind tourists
and locals alike that our diverse LGBTQIA2S+ communities have
been and still are a vital life force in making New Orleans.

I would also like to take this opportunity to recognize this city,
and surrounding area.