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The Visitors Center

@vstrscenter

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A new shop, a gallery, a soft serve window for and by queers in Fire Island Pines.
📍Next to the pizza place

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Moments from today ☀️ by @vstrscenter

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2 months ago

Made in the brief, extraordinary window between Stonewall and the AIDS crisis, Stanton’s photographs capture a generation of gay men newly free to be portrayed as beautiful, sexual, and fully alive. For many of his subjects, this openness itself was something new.

At a moment when artists were fighting for the eroticized male body to be recognized with the same power and seriousness as any traditional subject, Stanton approached this transformation with intimacy and ease, photographing the community around him: friends, lovers, artists, strangers met along the boardwalk, and the rituals of summers spent in the Pines.

At the center of this story was Stanton’s relationship with Arthur Lambert. Their Fire Island home became a gathering place where art, friendship, and desire overlapped, bringing together a creative circle that included David Hockney, Henry Geldzahler, Christopher Isherwood, and Ellsworth Kelly.

Friends + Lovers brings together Stanton’s photographs of Fire Island, his Super 8 films with a soundtrack created by writer and photography critic Vince Aletti, and a slideshow of a rare artist’s book created by David Hockney in the summer of 1975.

Curated by
@michaeljbullock and @fabio_chestich

Presented by
Queer Culture Arts Foundation & @vstrscenter taken in Fire Island Pines by @vstrscenter

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4 months ago

H2O Limo Muscle Tank ⛴️ Available at the @vstrscenter in the Pines

@h2olimo by @vstrscenter

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4 months ago

H2O Limo Blue 🔵 Shorts! Limited run available at @vstrscenter in The Pines.

Yowzah yowzah yowzah, thanks for being our model @mrseventytwo taken in Fire Island Pines by @vstrscenter

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4 months ago

You must have it! If you haven’t already collected FIRE ISLAND ART 100 YEARS then do it.

It’s a brilliant snapshot of the past century in art on Fire Island.

Free delivery to any home in Fire Island Pines with purchase from the Visitors Center 💫

@johnfdempsey @pineshistory taken in The Visitors Center by @vstrscenter

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4 months ago

Our favorite Pines dudes! 😎

Come sit with us :) taken in The Visitors Center by @vstrscenter

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4 months ago

FIRE ISLAND! My heart is full of gratitude for everyone who celebrated “A Night at the Disco” in the Pines this past weekend. THANK YOU to The Visitors Center and Queer Culture Arts Foundation for featuring the book as part of “Books and Boys” at The Naughty Pine. Special thanks to Marc R. Christensen, Nick Ammaturo, and Richard Margolius. You created such a unique, joyful space!

It was an honor to be in conversation with award-winning journalist Hal Rubenstein, a founding editor of InStyle Magazine and former Men’s Style Director of the New York Times Magazine, who currently publishes The Happy Grownup newsletter and podcast. He also lived every page of “A Night at the Disco” as it was unfolding in the 1970s. We bonded over “City, Country, City” by War. Hal corroborated what I’ve read over the years — how that track could spark a blaze on the dance floor! He spoke about how Casablanca Records would test material in the Pines and remembers hearing Donna Summer’s BAD GIRLS album in its entirety for the first time where *every single track* was just outstanding. We also applauded Ashford & Simpson, Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, and France Joli, who he remembers seeing at Beach, the first dance party of its kind in the Pines, July 1979. Thank you for the support, dear Hal!

In a sense, the roots of this weekend stem from May 2004 when I saw a screening of “When Ocean Meets Sky,” directed by Crayton Robey, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In fact, Hal Rubenstein was among the individuals Crayton interviewed for the documentary. Crayton and I struck an instant friendship that’s grown over the past 20+ years, so it meant the world to me that Crayton introduced me and Hal for our Q&A.

I’m so thankful that my dear friend and production partner Sekou Luke photographed the occasion and captured the beauty and serenity of the weekend. Sekou, Crayton, and I capped the night with @motherdisconyc at Ice Palace in Cherry Grove. Hearing Donna and Diana’s voices ringing through the midnight air and dancing with dear friends inspired a feeling of bliss and transcendence for me. To be continued … 📸 @sekou_luke taken in The Naughty Pine by @vstrscenter

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4 months ago

We’re so excited to help launch ‘A Night at the Disco’ with author @christianjohn.wikane at @127beachhill this Saturday from 2-4 pm! ‘A Night at the Disco’ is an unprecedented collection of photographs and stories that celebrate more than 100 artists who sparked a phenomenon in dance music from 1970 to 1979. Come Kiki with us and prep your mind for @motherdisconyc Saturday evening. taken in The Naughty Pine by @vstrscenter

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4 months ago

This is what community looks like.

Sunset Dock 06.07.26 taken in The Visitors Center by @vstrscenter

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4 months ago

So grateful to share that #ConversionTherapyDropout is on the shelves at @vstrscenter in Fire Island Pines. Fire Island played a special role in bringing my book to life. It’s where I drafted the first outline in the summer of 2023, where I wrote chapters of the book throughout the summer of 2024, and where I came and finished my final edits and drafted the epilogue last summer. I’m so honored to see it on the shelves alongside other books by queer writers that have inspired and influenced me as a gay man and as a writer. 🧡 taken in The Visitors Center by @vstrscenter

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5 months ago

@notkairaka in the (sold out) meat rack bird club tee. Cream long sleeves available though on vstrscenter.com 👀👀👀 by @vstrscenter

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7 months ago

Winter in Fire Island Pines and our digs :)
We’ve also launched our e-commerce site—it’s a work in progress but fully our unique, Fire Island vibe!

Link in bio :)
🔥 🏝️ 🌲 ❄️

pc: @liam_davy taken in The Visitors Center by @vstrscenter

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8 months ago