SUSANNE BARTSCH — Our Church Halloween, Avalon, New York, c.2006

Original invitation card, Susanne Bartsch, Our Church Halloween. Avalon, 20th St & 6th Ave, New York, c.2006. Offset-printed colour card, recto and verso. Standard postcard/flyer scale.

Recto: full-bleed painted illustration by Mathu Anderson — a chained gothic figure surrounded by flames. Verso: black ground with red, orange, and yellow typography announcing the event. Co-hosted by Monsignor Kenny Kenny; Master of Sermon: Larry Tee & Guest DJs; Mother Superior: Amanda Lepore; Saints including Ladyfag, Kim Aviance, Amber Ray, Dirty Martini, and Julie Atlas Muz. Door: 10PM, $20 with invite. Credits: invite by Peter Koblish; image by Mathu Anderson; set design by Desi Santiago; production by Anette Demeny & Manny Norena.

Susanne Bartsch’s work sits between fashion, performance, queer nightlife, and social staging. After bringing London designers — Stephen Jones, Body Map, Leigh Bowery, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano — into her New York boutique world in the 1980s, she became a central organiser of downtown nightlife and benefit culture. The 1989 Love Ball is now recognised as a major AIDS benefit, raising substantial funds and helping bring ballroom energy into a wider fashion and nightlife context.

Read through The New Rare register, this is not only an invitation but a printed remnant of a temporary social architecture. The former church becomes Avalon. The party becomes “Our Church.” The guest list becomes a congregation. Image, typography, venue, performers, and door price convert one night of New York nightlife into a portable object.

Condition: Good used condition. Surface rubbing, creasing, scratches, edge and corner wear, and adhesive/tape residue to verso — consistent with handled club ephemera and part of the object’s circulation history. Ships flat in protective sleeve with board; international shipping available.