Co-organized with Ralph Hopkins and Halo Kaya Perez-Gallardo, Ralph’s Beach Parties is a series of large-scale, participatory public art interventions staged at The People’s Beach at Jacob Riis - NYC’s historic queer sanctuary.

The projects revive and celebrate the historic, community-led fashion shows created by Ralph Hopkins on the same site throughout the 1990s. Using the original long mylar fabric runway - creating the visual magic of "walking on water" - these events bridge generations, shifting time and space to offer artistry, belonging, and visibility.

Beyond celebration, these interventions respond directly to urgent ecological and political shifts, including the loss of historic community monuments, rapid gentrification, and ongoing, severe beach erosion.

Press, Publications & Exhibitions

• Publications:

  • They Call Me The Mayor At Riis Beach: Ralph’s Beach Parties 1994–2000 (Anthology Editions & green flash projects)

  • I See What You See (KSMoCA) - Ralph Hopkins and Halo Perez-Gallardo both interviewed

• Films: 

  • The People’s Beach (Directed by J Wortham, premiering at New York Film Festival 2026)

• Selected Press & Features: Elephant Magazine, The New York Times, Reuters, SoFA Journal (“They Call Me The Mayor At Riis Beach, Breathing Its Own Magic”)

• Exhibitions: Printed Matter ‘Decolonization, Resistance, and Solidarity’ (2025-2026), Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (2024)

• Collections: CLAGS Research Archive at Minna Rees Library, Printed Matter 

Editions & Events

Ralph’s Red Hot at Riis, 2024

Sunday, September 22, 2024

Staged alongside the official book launch of They Call Me The Mayor at Riis Beach, this edition brought together original community members and new generations alike. Due to significant beach erosion, the National Park Service granted a permit at an alternate site within the park, bringing urgent public awareness to the environmental threats facing the coastline. The event also featured an interactive oral history booth hosted by The People’s RIISearch Group.

"Beach erosion is a real and pressing issue, and while we celebrate Ralph's legacy, we are also raising awareness about the challenges the beach faces."

• Designers: Lonnie Cisco, Midnite Abioto / Studio Abioto, Kate Williams, Lord Proverbs

• Performers: Star & Stan (Kate Williams, Reed Rushes)

• Models: Julio Vega, Yvonne Littlejohn, Keith Lorenzo, Press Kenady, Tracey Collins, Rico Rican, Phoenix Amadi, Shéár Avory

• DJs: Lil Ray (Jamboree NYC), Greg Cee

• Announcer: Giovanni Amato

• Institutional Support: green flash projects, National Park Service

• Poster Design: Gili Rappaport with Ralph Hopkins and Halo Kaya Perez-Gallardo
  

Ralph’s Neon Oasis Beach Party, 2022

Sunday, September 17, 2022

Engaging over 200 beachgoers, this five-hour public artwork took place during a critical political moment: immediately following the city’s announcement to demolish the abandoned Neponsit Hospital building. Long serving as both a physical buffer and a canvas for queer community artwork, the space required an intentional gathering of solidarity and joy.

"I wanted something for you to see that you hadn’t seen before. And to have a good time, and feel that you’re part of it." - Ralph Hopkins

• Original '90s Designers: Everett Clark, Lonnie Cisco

• Designers (Curated by Lil’ Deb’s Oasis): Care Instructions (Anne Gilbert Symons), Baggiana (Sacha Medjo), Boiled Wool (Cynthia Chang)

• Performers (Curated by Lil’ Deb’s Oasis): Davon Rainey, PVSSYHEAVEN (Rose Mori), Venus Babes (Ejike Figueira)

• Models: Margo Greb, Anastasia C Warren, Hot Bird Bath, Nifemi Ogunro, Claire Beauchamp, Jasmine Araujo, Mo Romney, Anne Gilbert Symons, Sophia Urftik, Talaya Robinson, Logan Francis

• DJ: David Store

• Photography: Christian DeFonte, Stephanie Keith, Ralph Hopkins

• Poster Design: Gili Rappaport with Ralph Hopkins and Halo Kaya Perez-Gallardo

Community & Acknowledgment

A deep debt of gratitude is owed to the whole Riis community and over 70 participants from Ralph’s original 1990s Riis Beach community who gathered, modeled, organized, and showed up at dawn to build this space together:

Kathy Mageski, Desira, Dominic Murphy, Terry McMahon, Eric Toodles, Kevin Baysuga, Norma Van de Marc, Reuben Russell, Theo Slite, Kenny M Bear, Eva Wright, Blondie Divaob, Kriis Turgeau, Dave Anderson, Darren, Mark, Henry Gibbons, Press Canady, Jojo Tyler, Ramon Frisheda, John Forde, Nina Beans, Denis Grela, Francesco, Jackie Clay, Coth Chcotansula, Helen Arnold, Jacob Wilcock, Nandy Harry Belard, Keri Weaver, Yaya, Joe Goldbeck, Daniel, Charlie Rosas, Lawrence Moss, Claudia Cintron, Julio Vega, Tanna Balecki, Bobby Robles, Carlos Ortiz, Alicia Smith, Tyrone Speight, Dianne Franco, Joe Garcia, Patricia Morrison, Lonie McGowan, Keith McCullough, Patricia, Rico, Joyce, Tina, Ira, Tee, Natalie, Giovanni, Julio, and Dianne.

May Riis last forever!