On Christopher Street, at the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village, a multitude of identities collide, shimmer, and breathe life into the idea of being oneself. The street has long stood as a symbol of freedom, resistance, and reinvention. It is here that the modern LGBTQ rights movement took its first defiant breaths, in the wake of the Stonewall uprising, and where the annual pride parade now ends as a triumphant reminder of how far we have come. At the corner of Christopher and Hudson Streets, renamed “Sylvia Rivera Way” in honor of the pioneering trans activist, the echoes of courage and community still linger. Within this rich, historic setting, photographer Mark Seliger found his muse and purpose. His book, On Christopher Street: Transgender Stories, captures not only the faces of a community but also the beating heart of an ever-changing neighborhood that continues to inspire and challenge the world’s understanding of gender, identity, and belonging.
Seliger, best known for his iconic portraits of musicians, actors, and cultural figures, had lived in the West Village for nearly two decades when he began to notice something extraordinary happening on his own doorstep. The theater of Christopher Street, with its mix of flamboyant characters, late-night dreamers, and fearless self-expression, began to vanish under the pressures of gentrification. The people who once gave the street its vibrant pulse were fading from view. Determined to preserve their stories, Seliger began taking portraits of transgender individuals he met along Christopher Street. With his Hasselblad camera, he worked in black and white, creating images that felt timeless and deeply intimate. What began as a handful of photographs evolved into a collection of seventy-four portraits that together form a powerful visual archive of identity and resilience.
