Educational Media Reviews Online

Art and Pep is a joyful and educational documentary of the lives and relationship of two men who, for decades, have been the owner-operators of Sidetrack, a cornerstone gay bar in Chicago’s most well-known LGBTQ+ neighborhood, Boy’s Town, now known as North Halsted. Director Mercedes Kane skillfully weaves their family story with their public personae and in so doing brings much needed attention to a seldom told story of long-term gay marriage/partnerships as the partners weather health battles, senior-citizenship, and some of the difficulties (and rewards) of becoming elderly together.

Art and Pep is a history of the LGBTQ+ liberation movement in Chicago. The film documents Art and Pep’s arrival to Chicago from small-town Illinois and Cuba respectively. We witness their roles in gay public life from the post-Stonewall 1970s, through the emergent political activism of ActUp in the 1980s during the plague years of AIDS and HIV, landmark Chicago Gay rights legislation, the legalization of gay marriage, and finally the COVID years. The audience receives these stories through personal interviews with Art and Pep, as well as friends, employees, reporters, and past and present public figures including Chicago’s former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago’s first LGBTQ+ mayor. Director Kane utilizes much historical media coverage as well as home-movies and videotape. Animation with personal oral-history voice-over add to the narrative style. While a singularly Chicago story, Art and Pep demonstrates that victories in Gay Rights were not isolated to the progressive East and West Coast cities like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and that dedicated activism and effort can produce positive change in the Midwest.

Art and Pep is an urban sociology documenting the central role of gay bars in the history and community building of LGBTQ+ people and the groundbreaking inclusivity that Sidetrack has demonstrated since its opening in 1982. From the single storefront bar that was defaced with “Fag Bar” graffitied across the door on its opening day, to the multi-building bar, lounge, event venue that it is today, Sidetrack has been both a stable foundation of Chicago’s North Halsted neighborhood and a leader and example for progressive LGBTQ+ rights and community building. Testimonials from dozens of Sidetrack regulars provide evidence of the centrality of this bar in their personal stories about finding a welcome, safe space in Chicago from the dominant culture that discriminated against them. A poignant example of Art, Pep, and Sidetrack’s inclusive ethos are the scenes showing support for Black-Trans lives when the majority Gay culture were discriminating against them.

Overall, it is quite astounding the scope of historical and personal terrain that Art and Pep is able to convey in just 88 minutes. This film is highly recommended for academic and public libraries and will supplement a collection of Chicago History, Urban History, LGBTQ+ stories, marriage and family studies.

Awards:
Chicago International Film Festival, Audience Award, Best Documentary; Centre Film Festival, Gratitude Award; Stamped Film Festival, Best Documentary

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