Surrounded by interesting textiles and mannequins that have all been lovingly named, one can immediately feel the magic of making things thick in the air. In the back garden, the sun hits us as flower petals fall from a nearby tree, and Hisham is making it clear to me that every detail of this home and its inhabitants embraces the unassuming romance of Brooklyn. He speaks on the move to America, creating with fellow artists in his content house and the synchronized fates that bring him success in a dress.

How did you come to be here in New York from Qatar and what were the first steps?

Summer 2014 was beautiful.  I had just graduated with a BFA in Fashion Design from VCU Qatar. New York was the dream because Qatar has no fashion breath of its own. It’s impossible to do anything in a place you have no resources for fashion. I had received a mysterious offer from Ralph Rucci in New York to come and intern with them as an assistant designer. After about six months with the company, they started to go under, and I moved with my thirst for knowledge to Kaufman Franco. I was responsible for an Oscars dress there… Then I moved on to Marchesa and did four Oscars dresses there as well as later, I was part of the iconic Cinderella Moment Dress worn by Constance Wu in Crazy Rich Asians, and I was watching it in the theater like, ‘wait, what?!’ because with so much more recent fashion out, I had no idea that was the dress they picked. When she got out of the car I was just thinking, ‘That’s me!’ Working there, I remember hating it at the time because we were basically a team of nine interns in an archive closet. I hated how much I was pushed to create for so little. But now it’s my most valuable work experience. All the while I was living on 116^{th and 3rd} Street in Harlem.

What inspired the change to move from a live/workspace in Harlem to this one in Brooklyn?

After that I got a position at the prominent store B & J Fabrics for two years, right near Times Square. Very valuable learning from working there… I basically felt fabric all day long and learned more tools of my trade. Just as those two years were closing a friend reached out with a work opportunity to do freelance graphic design by day for them, allowing me to have fashion by night. Around that time, I also met Alex, a sculptor who lived in this Brooklyn apartment and had just lost a roommate. I was such a hermit in Manhattan, but I sort of understood that out here I wouldn’t need to hermit myself away if I was already given space. It didn’t feel quite right to live on my own anymore and I wanted to try living with other creatives, especially someone I got along so well with as a fellow Arab, as a fellow queer person. So, I moved in! It didn’t take but nine months to be joined by another queer creative, Charlie – also known as Drag Performer Anya Knees – who had just relocated to New York after eight years in Lebanon! The Dream Team was born. As soon as we found out the folks on the ground floor were leaving, we jumped on it. It has a garden for Anya to perform and host, as well as a basement we could all use for studio space and a crash zone. It just fit, and we had this beautiful relationship based on talented coworking.

Have any mentors or advisors ever given you career-changing advice.

Well, I was originally told that truly reap the benefits and experience success as a designer, it’s going to take at least ten years, which – I mean, crazy right? ‘No, I’m totally going to surpass that, give me three years, two even!’ So far though, we’re beginning year eight and that advice feels about right. As someone who came from a place where there was absolutely no fashion industry and relies on everyone else, it’s amazing to see just how much there is out there to know. You do also have to take the time to learn those things and meet specific people that can help you progress, that’s not just something people say. I believe what they said now. I’m feeling much wiser – yeah, now give me two more years and I should be exactly where I wanted to be.

“Luck helps, and I’ve been dealt a fair share… but to maintain what luck gives you, you have to work at it.”

I’d say you’ve certainly been busy learning! What are some of your favorite and most notable accomplishments thus far?

Recently a few pieces I designed ended up being on the most recent season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, which is great. It was one of my own special formulas, and it moves like a dream. It was made in the apartment, I don’t know how we did it, just getting in fittings by the door and on the rooftop. The hat is probably the thing I’m most proud of. It’s entirely horsehair. It was a midnight addition that took an extra two hours that I wasn’t even supposed to be using. The episode before the one my dress was featured in, my roommate Charlie made one that was worn by the same racer. So, it was cool to see her wear a Lebanese designer followed by a Palestinian designer like that. In addition to all the awards dresses and Crazy Rich Asians it’s been so many great opportunities… Luck helps, and I’ve been dealt a fair share… but to maintain what luck gives you, you have to work at it.”

“If you can’t run in it, I don’t want to make it!”

What would you say you’ve developed?  What’s your brand and what does your design entail?

I have walked away from all my work with so many powerful pieces of experience. Marchesa was hell but like I said, it was a constant pressure for me to press and create and think which was very helpful for me later. Loved Ralph, loved couture, loved ready-to-wear. But this Marchesa light, fairytale ballgown thing was what I always wanted to learn, and I walked away from that satisfied. Satiated. It’s become my focus and I think I’m more than capable now of starting my own thing, that has not been done before or that at the least is new and has been needed for a while. That’s what made the fabric store so helpful too. Before then, I was just sewing fabric, I didn’t care what you gave me. I needed to take the time to learn the principles of each; how they move, how to use them, when. I’m wise in what materials I choose and what I select to make out of them in my own creations, now. I once learned a lot about making pieces that ended up on Broadway. Those dresses need to not only be beautiful but durable, to last for months on end of performing. I’ve adopted that, and I’ve reached this sweet spot of interest for gowns that you can just kind of slip on a pair of sneakers with and run off in! Honestly! Now it’s like… if you can’t run in it, I don’t want to make it! I’m currently messing with this update on the 1800’s hoop skirt with modern simplicity. They are crushable, flexible, and super durable.  You can just fold them up and take them with you traveling. You can classically add a dress or skirt on top, or just slip it over a pair of jeans with a t-shirt and sneakers. I love the look of them.

The post Fashion Meant to Move: Bedford Stuyvesant’s Hisham Dawoud appeared first on CitySignal.

With such a buoyant personality and brilliant work based in the morphing of reality’s greatest problems into teachable and learnable moments, it’s only fitting to speak to this successful queer artist about his prism of perspective on the industry, and how New York City – a mecca for the creative with a hyperdrive – informs the work of every artist it draws in.

He takes me around Chinatown to show me the gallery he hubs from, as well as shedding a new light on opportunities in commercial geography and why now more than ever community is key.

So, to start, can you kind of guide us through the work?

The jumping-off point for this came from me doing a lot of live performance work and getting to a point where my urgencies in my lived body as a white man weren’t aligning with what really needs to be talked about, which is the queer body and the experience of the identity being separate from the body itself, using it as a vehicle. So, these forms here, these bodies – which I’ve been calling “surrogates” – are the vessels for that. A lot of my work deals with power dynamics and how they’re prescribed based on the person, so these bodies evoke that with their poses. They’re outwardly submissive but have an allure that gives them dominance. The clothes are representative of the Jester, who can make fun of everyone and everything, but thinking to myself, ‘What’s the Jester of 2021?’ I kept coming back to the queer person. I know for me, in my family, I’m the one who injects the humor in the room and as queer people we’re kind of tormented in this way… Told by society we’re not enough, what we identify as is wrong, but then all our identifying interests are co-opted by the “dominant” group.

It’s a good point. You notice on television the identity of the token gay friend being put on the scene is always either comical or ruthlessly petty, a stereotype of sass.

Exactly, a few traits of just a stereotype have been taken and diluted queerness to that character. It’s the only way we’re accepted. And that’s a problem that’s not just within the LGBTQIA+ community, but in terms of gender and race too this is a prominent issue in our heteronormative society.

How long have you been working out of this studio in Bushwick, and did this project start here?

I’ve been in this studio for almost two years, and yes! This work started right around when the 2020 lockdown happened. I was just coming between my apartment and my studio, and that’s it! It was interesting because during that time of course you couldn’t see anybody, but when I came here it was kind of like, you know, my three friends are here! I share the space with another artist which is common, but they are never here, so it was just me and the figures for the whole quarantine. Even in a dark time, having this space was so invaluable to make these things that have been brewing for so long. Artists aren’t really afforded that space in day-to-day life!“…My work is risky and not necessarily built with the sole purpose of being sold. Being given the opportunity to be part of a gallery that leans into that, if I didn’t accept then I knew I’d be kicking myself.”(The future location for the gallery in Chinatown)

You have recently switched work environments, from one gallery to another in Chinatown. What made that change in a time where the job market for artists is wobbly a solid move?

When I moved to New York four years ago I was freelance art handling at New Museum and MoMA, as well as a few other galleries. I had all this work lined up into Covid, and then people steadily started canceling – for the foreseeable future there was nothing for me. Then in August 2020 a friend from the New Museum got laid off and reached out from a new gallery in Tribeca,

as head prep. They brought me on, and honestly, I just kept showing up every week. I was there for about a year, and in that time, I was brought all the way to full time, taking my manager’s position when they left. Now the gallery I’m moving to is currently in Chinatown on the fourth floor. While it’s a small space, it’s perfect for what they needed. But! In September they’re moving to a whole three-story space down the street to expand and asked me to be their head handler which was a complete dream.

What resonates with me more from this team is that this gallery is owned and run by a lesbian couple and hosts mainly queer and POC exhibits. They are far more experimental, and more interested in ‘creating the fantasy rather than just selling the painting,’ so they take risks… it’s a full experience and that’s so exciting to be a part of because that’s the way my own art is… my work is risky and not necessarily built with the sole purpose of being sold. Being given the opportunity to be a part of a gallery that leans into that, if I didn’t accept then I knew I’d be kicking myself. (The current location, WITH THEIR CURRENT Exhibition, called “Dog!”)“…Out of this whole year, there’s been a positive shift in artist support for one another where galleries will reach out to each other and connect. That’s been powerful as a silver lining for creators in the city.”

There’s been such a mass exodus of people in the city. How has that affected artists and gallery spaces in the city from your perspective?

Well, it’s interesting. With all these commercial spaces up now, a lot of people are moving from Chelsea to Tribeca with their galleries, and a lot are moving from Brooklyn to Chinatown. I’ve been seeing that happen a lot. The shift from Brooklyn is a big statement because it’s forced by legibility. There’s this whole elitist art nonsense in the community where people will write each other off, ‘Oh these are just Brooklyn artists,’ because they only show in Brooklyn at X, Y and Z places. They are both good! But to be clear, in Brooklyn you have more space and the ability to get away with whatever you want so that’s its plus. In Manhattan, in exchange for visibility you’re giving up that flexibility, but you’ll be legible. The opportunity for a gallery out here is great now though because there’s so much space. And out of this whole year there’s been a positive shift in artist support for one another where galleries will reach out to each other and connect. That’s been powerful as a silver lining for creators in the city.

Enjoyed this interview?  Read many more CitySignal QAs by our content team, as well as other interesting stories by Caroline Zemp.

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Rather than cook like an egg on the sidewalk, many opt to dig for the select sources of solace in the city. But when the shade of the parks just doesn’t cut it in mid-July, you will itch to ditch Madison Avenue for ocean spray and a thick, temperate gust of wind off the waves refreshing enough to satisfy the homesick Darryl Hannah in Splash.

It’s a fact that New York’s boroughs all have beaches – Manhattan excluded. Locals typically visit beaches in the area rather than in the city’s busier places. But after venturing to each of these fabulous beaches myself, I am aiming to change that perspective and help my fellow New Yorkers branch out for the beauty of their neighbors!

We think of a few big names when we think of New York beaches. After all, at least ten films have been set around Coney Island alone (think Warriors to Beaches to Requiem for A Dream) and while I of course have to talk about that powerhouse, there are so many gems I’ve discovered besides.

Let us jump right into the eight amazing beaches of New York City I’ve explored starting with Staten Island. While often overlooked for its distance from the other four boroughs, amongst other reasons, the home of our beloved Working Girl is not to be slept on. In fact, it has more beaches than any of the other boroughs, making it a great place to explore new horizons for the summer.

South Beach, Staten Island

What’s lovable about this beach is the full “experience” that comes with the journey. Sure you could take the highway bus from Brooklyn, but if you’re coming from anywhere else or just looking for a fun layer of travel, take the Staten Island Ferry out of Manhattan.

It’s free to board and has amazing views of the Statue of Liberty along the way (you won’t have to pay for the tour boat this time!) There is just something about seeing the gleaming skyline in the summer from a misty ferry that makes you feel like Fievel Mousekewitz, destined for adventure Americana.

Once there, you can walk the Roosevelt Boardwalk — built to create jobs and revitalize the city during the depression — and enjoy the concessions and pretty views of the Atlantic and Brooklyn. It is a little more secluded than other beaches in this list but the town is just a bus ride away with metro access and lots of shopping.

Midland Beach, Staten Island

Next, we have Midland Beach, which borders South Beach. A similar look of course but being a few miles further down the coast you receive more unobstructed ocean views and natural foliage.

This beach also hosts Ocean Breeze Pier, which is the largest recreational steel pier on the Atlantic. A perfect spot for fishing and netting, you are likely to see a larger catch here. (I witnessed a few personally just in my time visiting.)

Even on a cloudy day, you will find this beach has a moody, Jane Austen-esque romance for weddings and lover’s strolls. The local town is much closer here and there are options for buying lots near the sea.

Also, do not pass up the opportunity to try the best BBQ I’ve had since leaving the South. It can be found here at the award-winning Juicy Lucy’s, which also hosts a drive-in movie theater from its parking lot.

Rockaway Beach, Queens

We make our way to a much more well-known spot, a favorite amongst city dwellers. And while we may know it well, this bears repeating for the folks in the nosebleed seats.

Rockaway gets packed with patrons during the summer and the energy is electric! Here you’ll find a couple of miles of surprisingly clean beach and water given the popularity, as well as a very interesting mix of towering apartment complexes against low-rise luxury duplexes and even the very solid original single homes with yards and gardens.

That’s what is appealing about the area – it’s still an established family neighborhood. Given that, there are modern amenities right off the boardwalk, and public transport access in comfortable walking distance from the shore.

There is also a sea wall separating a section of beach for surfing only, where the waves are naturally more aggressive and draw in a lot of enthusiasts. Get your 70’s version of a Blue Crush moment here.

Coney Island Beach, Brooklyn

Scooting over now to a true classic, Coney Island. Not a real island; in actuality, it is the southernmost tip of Brooklyn off the metro.

This beach has been popular since it was first made a vacation destination in the late 1800s. With the vintage charm of famous concessions and a boardwalk boasting tons of outlook points you will find everything you want to have a rounded beach day.

This beach is also particularly family-oriented. You’ll be as “psyched” as Uptown Girls’ Ray heading down the pier to the Coney Island amusement park. As our late, darling Brittany Murphy once said, “It’s like passing through the gates to the emerald city.”

While there, you can even take a break from the heat at the very impressive New York Aquarium which has a new Spineless exhibit, huge shark habitat, and an endearing seal show.

Past the beach is a very established extension of Brooklyn city with many old apartment complexes and parks nearby. The population of the Brighton Beach area is almost 50% Russian and Ukrainian, giving you a staggering number of traditional restaurants and delis to grab a meal.

Orchard Beach, Bronx

Up in the Bronx, we are looking at Orchard Beach. While this spot is immensely popular with borough locals it’s another beach that is woefully overlooked. Getting here from other places is a bit of a journey to be true, with access by bus system mainly, but it is so worth it.

The neighborhoods around it are bustling but established and quiet with plenty of yard space. Exploring the paths of the massive Pelham Bay Park through the trees is a welcome calm from the city as the boardwalk appears over the hill, sprinkled with groups hosting birthdays and sunbathing.

Like Coney, this beach is very family-friendly. There is a massive playground with fountains off the boardwalk, and I even managed to catch a youth league basketball competition on the courts.

The beach here has extremely calm waters from its cove-like shape, making for perfect safe swimming further from shore. If you are craving something sweet or savory, food truck vendors are scattered up and down the beach with fruits, soft-serve ice cream and lots of sandwiches.

For an added layer of calm, don’t shy away from this beach on a cloudy day as it provides space for great photography and boat rides.

Glen Island Beach, Bronx Border/New Rochelle

This spot was a true adventure to reach. I want to start off by saying this is a Private Beach, accessible only to residents of the region surrounding the island – the team working there was kind enough to let me snoop around and show you lovely folks the beauty of this secret gem!

Living in this area has its perks. Locals enjoy the proximity to the city being right on the edge of the Bronx yet still maintain the luxury of SPACE, which as we know can be difficult to come by here.

The parks are plentiful, the shops and restaurants are mostly local and very cool and as a cherry on top, you have access to Glen Island.

On this island, there is not only the beach but an established yachting club that hosts elaborate parties, an incredibly fun crew of folks worth becoming a part of if you’re in a stage of your life where you’ve personally outgrown the city vibe and yearn to slow it way down.

Little Island, Manhattan

Moving back down the Hudson, we hit Little Island on Pier 55, the city’s newest manmade island-park attraction off Chelsea.

With a reservation through the website, anytime after noon, you can gain a free spot on the island for as long as you like.

This constructed wonder is set on a concrete and steel base of pillars made to look like champagne bottles. It also hosts live music and performances weekly in its beautiful amphitheater.

In addition, it is designed with beautiful greenery uncommon for Manhattan, that swirls upward to peak with layers of overlooks, providing some awesome views of the downtown skyline and the Empire State Building that will make you sing Alicia Keys.

This is not technically a beach, but it’s brand new, and the real reason I mention it is because it has a front-row vantage point to a major upcoming attraction on the neighboring pier, Manhattan’s first beach.

Gansevoort Peninsula Park, Manhattan

This photo was taken from Little Island next door and features the currently-under-construction, very first beach in the Manhattan borough.

Set to open in 2022, the Hudson River Park Trust has been working on this interesting project for over two years.

There is currently a very impactful art installation that has been there for years – queer artist David Hammons’ “Days End,” – that will be carefully incorporated and considered in the space as it was donated by the Whitney Museum across the street.

This little slice of escape from the Midtown bustle will feature a true sand beachfront, rocky seating on the opposite side, boardwalk, and green space with recreation areas. I can’t wait to get over there and see it for myself.

The post Best NYC Beaches to Visit this Summer appeared first on CitySignal.

Even better, it’s an LGBTQIA+ community celebrating Pride year-round.

I visited Fire Island on Pride Weekend with my wife and best friend. We checked out some of the premier gay designated spots. There’s Cherry Grove, known for its lesbian residents, and The Pines, known for a predominantly male crowd.

We also experienced some of the most opulent spins on Northeastern Beach architecture.

Ever since we came to New York, we have dreamt of getting a home for ourselves here to grow old in. I ran into a lovely couple who have made that dream come true for themselves — with amazing, prideful lore behind it.

This young couple, preferring to remain anonymous, has been visiting Fire Island for some 20 years. They rent for the entire summer (a popular practice here). It’s often possible to stay in the same property every time.

Fire Island July 4th Invasion

Renowned set designer and self-taught architect John Eberhardt built their home, along with 50 other properties on Fire Island. He was one of many NYC artists who came to Fire Island within the past 100 years to express themselves and avoid hatred from the public eye (far earlier than Stonewall took place).

Eberhardt is also the designer of the delectable, ornate white temple of the Pines known as the Belvedere Hotel. The Belvedere, famous for being a Victorian and Greco-Roman revival paradise for male patrons, is trimmed in gold and blue and overlooks the bay-side of the island.

Between 1930 and the 1970s, Eberhardt designed frame homes; easily erected but embellished with that visionary, sleek flair that made him famous. The lore of this couple’s particular home stems from the history of the biggest pride event on the island: July 4th’s Invasion.

In 1976, a few drag queens were swiftly denied access to a local Pines restaurant. So, they went home to formulate their next move — take over a ferry on the mainland, come back to the island and storm The Pines via water taxi from Cherry Grove.

This happens every year on July 4th. Hundreds of world-renowned queens take over an entire ferry and perform all day long. Legend has it, the very home where the original queens concocted their ultimate revenge scheme is — you guessed it — this couple’s vacation home.

Events like this illustrate a beautiful picture of a truly expressive place to plant roots as a creative individual. Not idyllic, and not unattainable. In fact, many empty lots are continuously for sale on the island post-covid that are ripe for the picking. My fingers were itching to type the phone number in myself.

From our personal experience, this central hamlet is heart-wrenchingly sweet during Pride Month and year-round. There are small sandwich shops we love from the city, bustling bars, and of course the miles of uninterrupted state park beach. Insert a surprisingly large nouveau-nuclear family population of same-sex couples, and you’ve created a little pocket of island paradise one can dream about for retirement.

Cherry Grove Pride Parade

The 10-minute Cherry Grove Pride parade was a major highlight of the weekend. It featured this year’s homecoming queen, the tiniest firetruck ever, a dance sequence, and — of course — lots of glitters. The fire chief’s pre-teen granddaughter, Lucy, sang the national anthem with a piña colada in hand. The entire community joined in.

The camaraderie was palpable. Fearless strangers reached out to one another laughing and cheering like it was 2019. I do not claim to be one of the people waiting for things to go “back to normal.” I believe in finding a happy, stronger new normal that values reconnecting with ourselves, others, and our sense of place.

The opulent homes and eccentric shanties are owned by the most creative minds I have seen outside of New Orleans. I would say Fire Island maintains a personality that is adaptable, welcoming, and positively effervescent.

The post The Charm of a Cherry Grove Summer Home appeared first on CitySignal.