MoMA The Museum of Modern Art

“All these queer ancestors lived and contributed and we are the recipients of the gift of their life and their expression. I felt by making these shrines, it would make a statement that these people were important and they’ve changed art, and give them some respect.” — Agosto Machado Downtown New York has hosted generations of underground cultural communities, providing a vibrant home for drag queens, theater performers, filmmakers, and outcasts. Over five decades, artist and queer liberation activist Agosto Machado collected a large personal archive of art, ephemera, and mementos from these communities to create shrines, initially assembled as private acts of remembrance in his East Village apartment.  Many of the objects in this shrine symbolize the losses Machado experienced due to violence against the queer community and the AIDS crisis. This work was created to celebrate and commemorate the people who influenced his life and help their memory live on.  Experience Machado’s practice of remembrance over the years in these archival snapshots, and see “Shrine” on view now in our second floor galleries. — [1] Agosto Machado. “Shrine (White).” 2022. Acquired through the generosity of Scott Lorinsky. © 2024 Agosto Machado. Courtesy of the artist [2-3] Michael Hardwood. “Agosto Machado, The Forbidden City.” 1992. Courtesy Gordon Robichaux, NY [4] Michael Hardwood. “Agosto Machado, The Forbidden City.” 2021. Courtesy Gordon Robichaux, NY