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Art Johnston and Pepe Peña are civil rights leaders whose life and love is a force behind LGBTQ+ equality in the heart of the country. Their iconic gay bar, Sidetrack, has helped fuel movements and create community for decades in Chicago’s queer enclave. But, behind the business and their historic activism exists a love unlike any other. The documentary film ART AND PEP tells the inspiring story of the long struggle for equality and their fight to love freely.
A story at the heart of our history.
America’s popular telling of queer progress largely comes from the coasts - Stonewall, the Cooper Do-Nuts Riot and Harvey Milk’s legacy. ART AND PEP is a story of equality born in the heartland. The first state to decriminalize homosexuality, Illinois was on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic, anti-discrimination laws and marriage equality. But long before government officials would utter the words “HIV,” it was gay bars that transformed into community centers and became ground zero in the fight. While Art and Pep never set out to be activists, for them inaction was never an option.
The battles they faced. The camaraderie they formed. The generation they galvanized. And the clout they created. Their story is at the heart of LGBTQ+ history.
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As 2022 comes to a close, our team can’t help but look back and be extraordinarily grateful for the year we’ve had. We finished editing the film at the start of the year. We premiered at Outfest in L.A. and screened at over a dozen other film festivals, from Chicago International Film Festival all the way to Omovies Film Festival in Naples, Italy. We received positive reviews and awards, but most importantly, we were able to witness audiences around the world connect with our film and Art and Pep’s one-of-a-kind love story.
None of this could have happened without all of you. Your support allowed us to finish the film, pay festival submission fees and travel to share and speak about the story and issues affecting the community today.
We expect to screen at even more festivals and venues in 2023. If you’d like to support our journey, you can do so by making a tax-deductible donation.
Art Johnston planned to spend the year of 1972 in Chicago finishing his graduate degree. Fate had other plans. When Art wandered into a gay bar in the city one night he had no idea the irresistible bartender he’d go home with would change his life forever. It didn’t take long for him to discover that Pepe Peña was more than just a popular barkeep in the gay community. A confidant to customers with nowhere else to turn, Pep was known as the ultimate cheerleader, always ready to fill someone’s pint and lift their spirits. Smitten by the fiery Cuban, Art packed up his life in Buffalo and planted roots in Chicago.
The rest is LGBTQ+ history.
Fate walked
into a bar.
"
Along came this Cuban guy and he turned my life completely upside down and made it remarkable."
– Art Johnston
A bar became
their fate.
Sidetrack opened in 1982 and with Art and Pep at the helm, it went from a 900-square-foot windowless watering hole to a pillar of Chicago’s gay business district, spanning over eight storefronts and multiple levels. Art and Pep have watched as the politicians who once would have them jailed now court the community for votes. The space has become a source of political and financial support for LGBTQ+ rights. Proceeds from the bar have helped fund what is now the midwest’s largest LGBTQ+ organization, and created a place where patrons, young and old, can sing show tunes on a Sunday and help elect progressives on a Tuesday. Sidetrack’s success paved the way for many other businesses to thrive, turning the area into the first city-designated gay neighborhood in the country.
"
–
Channyn Lynne Parker,
Director of Strategic Partnerships,
Howard Brown Health
Sidetrack is our Cheers, even if I don’t know everyone’s name."
​
Their fate fueled
a movement.
Chicago’s contribution to LGBTQ+ rights movement cannot be understated, but is too often overlooked. From being on the front lines of the AIDS crisis to co-founding Equality Illinois, Art and Pep have been leading the fight all along, helping Illinois become one of most progressive protectors of LGBTQ+ rights in the country. They have the battle wounds and arrest records to prove it, but more importantly, they have memories of their many years of activism, loss, progress and change.
"
One day, you will stand on my shoulders, as I stand on the shoulders of so many ...The shoulders of LGBTQ+ trailblazers ...like Art Johnston."
– Mayor Lori Lightfoot
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A movement propelled by a
new generation.
The work ignited by Art & Pep and their fellow trailblazers is being carried on by the next generation. From continuing the legacy of Sidetrack to fighting for trans rights across the state and country, we’ll get a glimpse inside their worlds and what it takes to push for progress in a complicated world.
History - and a film - in the making.
Despite the challenges of filming during a pandemic, our team has continued to capture and bring to life the story of Art and Pep.
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We need your help to finish the film.
Share Your Memories
If you have video footage from Sidetrack, working with Equality Illinois or of Art and Pep over the years, we need it now! Please submit photos, videos and/or memories here.
Share Your
Memories
Your contributions make it possible for us to successfully complete every aspect of the filmmaking process in order to create a feature-length documentary. While ART AND PEP is an official partner of Canon, there are many additional costs including production equipment and crew, archival licensing, editing and post-production, film festival fees and more.
Tax-deductible donations of ANY amount are accepted through Daisy May Films, a 501c3 NFP.
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