ABOVE: ‘Born This Way’ street art in front of the Abbey on Robertson Blvd. (Photo by Hans Beimler)
Each year the City of West Hollywood celebrates Pride with its One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival, which runs from Harvey Milk Day (May 22) through the end of June Pride month.
Additionally this year, West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey P. Horvath on Sunday officially declared May 23 as “Born This Way Day,” marking the tenth year of the release of Lady Gaga’s hit album.
To commemorate and recognize its cultural impact, the City of West Hollywood is celebrating with a street painting on Robertson Blvd in tribute to the LGBTQ+ community and as well as the album. Mayor Horvath also presented a Key to the City to Lady Gaga Sunday with a note of thanks: “Thank you for encouraging us to love ourselves and be proud!”
When it was originally released in 2011, Born This Way shattered records around the world. To date, the album has more than 5.8 billion global streams, 5.2 million physical albums sold, and 31 million digital tracks sold. Born This Way was Lady Gaga’s first #1 album and it debuted at #1 in 25 countries. It was named one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and is Certified 4X Platinum in the U.S.
Concurrent with the unveiling of the colorful street painting is the kickoff of Pride season in West Hollywood with the annual One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival. The 2021 theme for One City One Pride is For the Record – LGBTQ stories of the past that have often been hidden or undocumented. One must read between the lines to find stories hidden behind “beard” marriages, coded language, and erased or destroyed evidence. This year, One City One Pride looks at some of these previously hidden stories.
In order to prioritize health and well-being, One City One Pride 2021 is taking place virtually/in a socially distant manner for 2021.
You can view all 2021 events as a list here. Follow at www.facebook.com/wehopride or www.instagram.com/wehoarts to stay up to date.
One City One Pride is organized by the City of West Hollywood’s Arts Division. If you have additional questions about One City One Pride please email Mike Che, One City One Pride coordinator/City of West Hollywood’s Arts Coordinator at mche@weho.org
