Tuesday Smillie, the University’s Perlmutter artist-in-residence, and David Getsy, an art history professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, joined members of the Brandeis community on Saturday to screen the movie “Happy Birthday Marsha!” and to discuss “genderqueer archival research,” per the event description.

“Happy Birthday Marsha!” is a fictional short film by Sasha Wortzel and Tourmaline that “imagines transgender rights pioneers Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera in the hours leading to the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City,” according to the event’s description. “Johnson and Rivera co-founded STAR (Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries), a radical political organization that advocated for homeless drag queens and trans women of color, providing housing and social services.” 

The film follows Johnson, who reluctantly goes to a gay bar with her friends to celebrate her birthday. At the gay bar, she sings a song about the progress of transgender rights and recognition, comparing it to the flow of water in the river, and kisses a few girls. Police attempt to shut down the gathering after her vocal performance, and the Stonewall riot begins.

After the movie, Smillie examined how movements for transgender rights have developed throughout history. She then discussed photos of transgender pride demonstrations and her interpretation of those photos as works of art. She then defined the term “transfeminism” as a movement to promote rights, recognition and justice for transgender women. 

Getsy, who has written three books and edited five more about the portrayal of transgender people in the arts, discussed Steven Varble, an artist who identifies as “gender confounding.” Varble creates artwork, often using trash, to demonstrate his transgender pride and his criticism of societal institutions, according to Getsy. Getsy explained that once, when Marble’s identity was stolen and someone made fraudulent purchases on his account, he made an artistic statement about his potential financial desperation by walking into his bank wearing only one shoe. 

Both Smillie and Varble are working to recover the records of transgender people in art throughout history. Smillie’s exhibition, “To build another world,” is on view at the Rose Art Museum until Dec. 9, according to the event description. 

Editor's Note: This article was corrected to clarify that his name is Steven Varble, not Steven Marble. Additionally, the article was corrected to indicate that Smillie discussed the photographs and Getsy discussed Varble's work (this was switched previously). The paragraph about the photography was corrected to use she/her pronouns for Smillie. Finally, an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that some of Varble's artwork is on display at the Rose.