COTV in the News
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The Church of the Village featured in The New York Times’ Pride Walk as a historical landmark for the LGBTQ+ equality movement.
The Church of the Village is proud and honored to host a monthly event for the Trans Beauty Clinic, featured in O: The Oprah Magazine.
A Look Back: COTV Oscar Wilde Temple
McDermott & McGough, Oscar Wilde in Prison (Detail), 1895 (MMXVII), oil and gold lead on linen, courtesy of the artists
A Collaboration of Artists, the Church of the Village, and the LGBT Community Center
September 11 - December 2, 2017
The Oscar Wilde Temple was installed at the Church of the Village from September 11 through December 2, 2017. As an LGBTQ-affirming church, COTV was thrilled to co-sponsor this event with the LGBT Community Center.
The artistic concept was to honor Oscar Wilde, one of the earliest forebears of gay liberation, while commemorating contemporary LGBTQ+ martyrs. The centerpiece of the Temple was a central altar built around a 4’3” figure of Oscar Wilde, carved in linden wood in a devotional style. On the pedestal below, Wilde’s prison number appeared. Framing each side of the statue were eight “stations,” paintings tracing Wilde’s journey from arrest through imprisonment and his sentence to two years’ hard labor. Inspired by the Stations of the Cross paintings at the Notre-Dame-des-Champs cathedral in Avranches, France, and based on engravings from British newspapers that chronicled Wilde’s dramatic trial, it is a pictorial retelling of Wilde’s sensational downfall, depicting him as a divine soul, adding gilded flourishes to each work to communicate his suffering and martyrdom.
The Church of the Village, a queer-friendly church with many ties to LGBTQ+ liberation, was proud to give this exhibit its New York City home.
You can find additional information about the project and the artists at the official Oscar Wilde Temple website.