Artist Keith Haring was born on this day in 1958. He first made his mark drawing graffiti in New York’s subways but would later see his work featured in large public murals and major galleries.
His artwork often made political statements about government inaction on the AIDS epidemic, and today his imagery is found on everything from clothing to notebooks, drink containers and backpacks.
Haring arrived in New York in the late 1970s, studying at the School of Visual Arts during the day and working as a busboy at nightclub Danceteria in the evenings.
He first came to attention creating chalk drawings on unused blackboards in New York’s subway stations. His graffiti‑inspired line‑drawing style, filled with symbols and messages, soon moved from the streets into art galleries.
Haring went on to travel the world, taking on commissions to create new works. He visited Australia in 1984, painting murals in Melbourne and Sydney and being commissioned to create a work for the National Gallery of Australia.
Haring also created politically charged works, including his Silence = Death series, which highlighted the US government’s lack of action on the AIDS crisis.
As an up‑and‑coming artist in New York, Haring was close friends with Jean‑Michel Basquiat, Madonna, Futura 200 and Kenny Scharf. Later he formed associations with Andy Warhol, Grace Jones and Yoko Ono. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1988.
When he publicly shared that he was living with HIV in 1989, prices for his artworks immediately soared as collectors anticipated his impending death. At the time, there were few successful treatments and those who contracted the virus faced a low life expectancy.
Haring passed away on 16 February 1990, aged 31. He is memorialised on a panel of the AIDS Quilt.
Madonna donated all proceeds from the first New York date of her Blonde Ambition tour to HIV charities in honour of Haring, and he is featured in her memorial to people lost to HIV/AIDS in her recent Celebration tour. In 2019 he was among the first 50 Americans added to the honour roll at the USA’s Stonewall National Monument.
After his death, Haring’s journals were published. In the foreword, artist David Hockney described Haring as an artist who left his mark everywhere.
Today his style is more popular than ever. There’s a Keith Haring range at Kmart, where shirts in his style are available. You can pick up a Keith Haring water bottle or notebook from Typo, and H&M have offered a range of striking jackets featuring his art. You can even create your own Keith Haring‑inspired design on Canva.
Angels in America: Part One – Millenium Approaches made it’s Broadway debut in 1993
Angels in America, which won author Tony Kushner the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 1993, had its Broadway debut on this day in 1993.
Angels in America is a play delivered in two parts. Part One: Millennium Approaches was first performed in 1992, with the second segment, Part Two: Perestroika, premiering the following year. Both parts made their Broadway debut in 1993.
Angels in America: Part One – Millennium Approaches began its Broadway run on this day in 1993, with the cast adding the second part of the story the following November.
Among the Broadway cast were Joe Mantello, Marcia Gay Harden and Jeffrey Wright. The London production began a few months earlier and included Daniel Craig, Jason Isaacs and Stephen Dillane.
The complex and often metaphorical play is a study of HIV/AIDS and attitudes toward homosexuality in America. The two parts are often presented together as a single work, though they are also performed separately. Staged in full, the play runs for around seven hours.
In 2003 it was adapted into an HBO miniseries with an all‑star cast including Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Mary‑Louise Parker, Emma Thompson, Jeffrey Wright, James Cromwell and Simon Callow.
The play, especially its first part, continues to be performed regularly around the world. A 2010 Off-Broadway revival starred Christian Borle, Zachary Quinto, and Billy Porter, later Michael Urie and Adam Driver joined the cast too. A 2017 West End Production starred Andrew Garfield and Russell Tovey, with Nathan Lane, Denise Gough and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.
In 2016 Black Swan State Theatre Company mounted a production.
