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Comings & Goings
Rand Snell opens art gallery in Florida
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Congratulations to Rand Snell on the opening of his new studio/gallery in Florida. Snell is a D.C. and Florida-based artist, composer, and writer. The Gallery is Sixstar Arts Studios, 2430 Terminal Dr. S, Unit B, St. Petersburg, Fla. His work can be seen at www.randsnell.com.
“I’m grateful Jason Hackingwerth invited me to join him and four other talented, and successful artists, to create a new arts destination,” Snell said. “In my new studio and gallery, I’ll be creating larger pieces and displaying a larger range of my work to the public. I think what creative people do comes from within. There is something that needs to be said, or perhaps a connection with something beyond that channels through the artist, writer, musician, actor, and potentially every human being. Skills and technique open possibilities, but creative people strive for something that goes beyond ability and craft.” In his collages Rand uses original photography and abstract designs to create works of complexity and layered perspectives. Upon selling his first few pieces Rand added, “But recognition is also nice. So, thank you to the many friends, artists, collectors, gallery owners and art patrons who have come by to check out Sixstar.”
Some of Rand’s compositions have been performed at the Kennedy Center, including his commissioned work for the Congressional Chorus, “One Land,” commissioned for the 20th anniversary of the Chorus, which premiered in 2007. His works have been presented by community choirs and groups like the University of Maryland Percussion Ensemble, and the Florida Orchestra Brass Quintet.
In his early career, Snell was director of State and Local Relations and Senior Adviser, to the Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and a senior vice president, Hill & Knowlton. He served in Gov. Chiles’s administration in Florida, and as a legislative assistant in his Senate office. Snell also ran for Congress on his own, in a losing campaign for Florida’s 13th congressional District. He began his career as a manager with Reeder Farms, a family agriculture and land management company.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History, University of South Florida; a diploma in International and Comparative Politics, London School of Economics; and master’s in Music Composition, University of South Florida.
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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