Registration

• Admission for this special program is $125.

• Please check your spam folder for your email confirmation. If you have questions, please call (215) 732-1600 or email rsvp@rosenbach.org.

• This program is for those 18 and older.

Description

If you examine any aspect of cinema long enough, you will find a brilliant Queer influence. Legendary actress Grace Kelly’s career is no exception; her gay uncle (or “guncle”) George was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and strong influence who encouraged his niece’s interest in the arts. Join the Rosenbach Museum & Library and the DVLF, Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ community foundation, for a rare opportunity to step inside Princess Grace’s childhood home for a conversation about George Kelly’s identity as a gay man within a proud Irish Catholic immigrant family that prized traditional masculinity. 

The afternoon will begin with light refreshments served in the Kelly House’s dining room and continue with an opportunity to explore the home. At 4:30 p.m., Alexander Lawrence Ames, Director of Outreach & Engagement at the Rosenbach and a member of the DVLF’s Legacy Giving Committee, will interview University of Connecticut Professor Mary Burke, a scholar of Irish studies, about George Kelly’s literary work, his long-term relationship with another man, his influence on Grace Kelly’s acting career, and what we can learn about gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and identity from George’s place in his larger family circle. Guests will have the opportunity to pose questions to Professor Burke at the close of the program.  

Each registration for Grace’s Guncle includes a FREE admission to an introductory tour of the Rosenbach Museum & Library. Call 215-732-1600 or email rsvp@rosenbach.org to reserve your tour! 

Ticket proceeds will support the DVLF’s LGBTQ+ grant program and the Rosenbach’s public programs focused on Queer history and culture.  

Note: Names and contact information of program registrants will be shared by the Rosenbach and the DVLF; registrants will be added to the organizations’ contact lists. Contact alames@rosenbach.org to decline.