ONE Archives Foundation announced the launch of Together On the Air, a hybrid exhibit that is the first ever to chronicle the history of Radio GLLU, the first bilingual LGBTQ+ radio program in the United States. The exhibit will launch online on December 14, and will also be accompanied by in-person programming and a temporary installation at ONE Gallery in West Hollywood on December 10.
From the mid-1980s through the 1990s, Radio GLLU was hosted and run by the Los Angeles-based Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU), one of the first LGBTQ+ Latinx organizations in the country. Together On the Air will explore the legacy of radio as a vehicle for LGBTQ+ Latinx community building, belonging, and advocacy.
Radio GLLU Collage“Radio GLLU was a lifeline for thousands of queer Latinos,” said oral historian and Together On the Air curator Ángel Labarthe del Solar. “Its members fought hard for visibility while also creating a home with each other on the air. This exhibition reminds us of the importance of community, chosen family, and connection in movement-building and our collective fight towards liberation.”
This exhibition features archival audio recordings and ephemera from ONE Archives at the USC Libraries as well as personal collections of GLLU members, along with newly recorded oral histories with founders and members of the organization.
“Listening is intimate. Radio, a form of collective listening, is powerful,” said Umi Hsu, Director of Content Strategy at ONE Archives Foundation. “From the recordings, we hear the heartbeat of the movement and the stories of unity. Together On the Air is about how joy is lived and transmitted through the voices of young LGBTQ+ Latinx activists in the 1980s and 1990s.”
The pre-launch event for the exhibit, Together On the Air: LIVE on Radio, will take place on Saturday, December 10 from 4:30-7pm at ONE Gallery in West Hollywood. Original Radio GLLU co-hosts Rita Gonzales and Eduardo Archuleta will reunite for a live recording of an exclusive radio session featuring special guests, including playwright & MacArthur Fellow Luis Alfaro, activist Irene Martínez, and historian & author Lydia Otero. Audience members will experience the radio session in its original “Gay Day” format from the 1980s. In partnership with Los Angeles nonprofit radio station dublab, a recording of the session will be broadcast online at dublab.com in mid-January 2023.
RSVP for Together On the Air: LIVE on Radio here: https://onearchives.org/liveonradioevent.
Starting December 14, visitors can view Together On the Air online here: https://togetherontheair.onearchives.org.
Together On the Air is organized by ONE Archives Foundation and curated by Ángel LaBarthe del Solar. The exhibition is made possible by support from the City of West Hollywood and Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, and our media partner, dublab. Special thanks to ONE Archives at the USC Libraries for their research support.
About ONE Archives Foundation
Founded in 1952, ONE Archives Foundation is the oldest active LGBTQ+ organization in the United States and is dedicated to telling the accurate stories and history of all LGBTQ+ people and their culture. As an independent nonprofit, ONE Archives Foundation promotes ONE Archives at the USC Libraries — the largest repository of LGBTQ+ materials in the world — and provides innovative educational initiatives, public exhibitions, and community programs.
The curatorial and educational choices made by ONE Archives Foundation are guided by our commitment to social equity and justice. We engage with the complexity of LGBTQ+ history and representation through highlighting the intersectional and authentic narratives of Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), women, gender-nonconforming and transgender people, people of various abilities, youth, and elders across all socio-economic classes. Learn more at onearchives.org, and connect with ONE on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @onearchives.
