New York temple ‘comes out’ as tribute to Wilde
New York: A secular temple devoted to Oscar Wilde opened in the basement of a New York church on Tuesday, crammed with devotional style religious art to honor a trailblazer of gay rights.
Those involved in the project said it had been 20 years in the making but with transgender rights under threat from President Donald Trump’s administration and gays feeling more discrimination, it was more timely than ever. Conceived by artists David McDermott and Peter McGough at The Church of the Village, the space will be open to members of the public five days a week and available for private ceremonies, including weddings.
Wilde, the Irish wit and playwright, was convicted of gross indecency, sentenced in 1895 to two years hard labour, most of which he served in the southern English town of Reading.
“He invoked all of us to rebel, that it was the inherent quality of human beings to be rebellious, to move society, to be individual,” said curator Alison Gingeras, who organised the project.
McDermott said the temple was a place “free of religious doctrine, honoring a watershed historical figure who pioneered the long struggle for equal rights for gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender peoples.”
Pastor Jeff Wells welcomed the collaboration, saying the installation “fits so deeply into the ethos of this congregation, which we call radically inclusive.” The church, which has a strong LGBTQ contingent, is located in the heart of Greenwich Village near the Stonewall Inn, a landmark of the gay rights movement in the US.
“The Oscar Wilde Temple” transforms a basement chapel, which will continue to serve as a place of worship for deaf congregants on Sundays, back to 1882-83.