Provincetown Family Week: Queering the Family Tree

For centuries, the traditional "family tree" has been used to trace generations and lineage. But for LGBTQ+ people — whose families are found, formed, and chosen in a myriad of different ways — the conventional family tree doesn't always get the full picture. Join the American LGBTQ+ Museum and Family Equality for a special workshop for the whole family that re-imagines what the family tree can be! Facilitated by Brooklyn-based poet, performer, and educator Najee Omar and featuring exciting new artwork created exclusively for this activation by illustrator, multidisciplinary artist, and Museum friend, Loveis Wise, we invite participants to Queer the Family Tree and celebrate those you hold close.

Make your voices heard - help shape the American LGBTQ+ Museum! Families are invited to engage with our exhibitions staff to offer their ideas for future exhibitions and experiences. Through interactive activities, kids and their adults are invited to share their hopes and dreams for the nation's first LGBTQ+ history museum.

The next day, Friday, July 31, photographer Roger Erickson will be taking family portraits during Family Week’s Parade Pre-Party. Click here for more details.

Provincetown Family Week is the largest annual gathering of LGBTQ+ families in the world. From sunrise to sunset, Family Week offers opportunities for LGBTQ+ parents, children, extended families, and friends from across the globe to connect, build community, and get empowered. Each day will be filled with programming options for the whole family as well as individual age groups.

Founded in 1979 at the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, Family Equality has spent more than four decades ensuring that everyone has the freedom to find, form, and sustain their families by advancing equality for the LGBTQ+ community, providing resources for families at all stages, and creating community through our in-person and virtual events.

Loveis Wise is an award winning and New York Times bestselling Illustrator and Art Director, currently based in Los Angeles and teaching at Laguna College of Art and Design.

As an multidisciplinary artist, their practice is centered on reimagining futures, liberation, and community.

The workshop space within Crown & Anchor is accessible and there is a ramp to the common indoor spaces. We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. Please reach out with any questions, requests or needs to [email protected].

Additional, Family Equality has provided the following accessibility information for Provincetown:

• If you or someone in your family would like to request ASL interpretation or have any of access needs, indicate that in the registration form or email Family Equality’s Family Week Team.
• In Ptown, there are few to no elevators in many buildings that are multiple stories and there are usually steps to enter buildings. Further, most venues have little-to-no parking and the sidewalks can be narrow, crowded, or uneven. We have chairs at all or our events for both youth and parents to be able to sit down and Family Equality staff are always willing to work with participants in any way to make more spaces accessible for our participants.
• Family Equality has gathered measurements, images, and pictures from in-person trips to gather access information for anyone who may want to know more about the spaces and if their access requests can be met at Family Week or specific events. Prior to July 18th, you can email Family Equality with any questions or concerns about accessibility. From July 19th and after, we recommend reaching out directly to the venue you have questions about.
• The Town has designated its public restrooms as All Gender Restrooms to ensure that everyone — regardless of gender identity — has safe and equal access to public restrooms. This means that everyone has the right to use the restroom that best aligns with their gender identity. View Provincetown’s Public Restrooms site for more information.
• During Family Week if you have questions, concerns, or need assistance regarding access, contact Family Equality staff.
• You can also review Provincetown’s Accessibility site for more information.
• Accessible Provincetown is a great resource for accessibility information in Provincetown. They have a Welcome Center at 307 Commercial Street where there are wheelchairs and canes that can be borrowed. Find them on their website, Facebook, or call 508-487-7198.
• Our goal is to plan this event with disability justice top of mind. Don’t hesitate to contact us if we are failing to reach this goal. If you have any questions about how we can best support you and your family, email us.

Photo by Leandro Justen. "AIDS Memorial Quilt Making" American LGBTQ+ Museum