(Viewers can peruse an online version of the show here.)īaker, Segerblom, McNamara and other activists first flew two versions of their brilliantly colored flag at the United Nations Plaza on June 25, 1978, in celebration of “ Gay Freedom Day.” Each measuring 30- by 60-feet, the designs were hand-stitched and dyed with eight colored stripes: pink to symbolize sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for the sun, green for nature, turquoise for art and magic, blue for serenity, and purple for the spirit, according to the online exhibition. It will be featured as the centerpiece of “ Performance, Protest and Politics: The Art of Gilbert Baker,” an ongoing exhibition about the activist’s life and work. The rare fragment-presumed lost for more than four decades-resurfaced last year, writes Peter-Astrid Kane for the Guardian. Per a statement, its creators included queer artists Gilbert Baker, Lynn Segerblom and James McNamara, as well as more than 30 volunteers. Now an internationally recognized symbol of LGBTQ pride and civil rights, the rainbow flag design was conceived by a group of activists in San Francisco in 1978. Earlier this month, the GLBT Historical Society Museum unveiled a glass case containing a rare artifact: a segment of the original rainbow gay pride flag, its colors as vibrant as ever. A priceless piece of queer history has returned home to San Francisco, reports Ezra David Romero for KQED.
