The Stonewall Riots

The Stonewall Riots took place on June 28, 1969 after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay and drag bar in Manhattan, NYC. This riot served as the catalyst for the gay rights movement in the U.S.

The design approach was to build a collage of real photos of people, places, graffiti, and news clippings at this time to maintain authenticity and to give a better sense of what it would have been like to experience this period of time firsthand. In the beginning of the video, the sounds of a crowd fade in and out to help make the viewer feel like they’re experiencing the riot themselves. Bold pops of color directly sampled from the gay pride flag are featured on each slide, adding vibrancy to the gritty black-and-white photographs. Elements often blur in and out as they glitch and glide across the composition, adding dynamism to the otherwise still images.