Tom Kalin

Background: Tom is a 27 year old white gay man. He grew up on the near South Side of Chicago in a suburb called Homewood the youngest of 11 children of liberal parents. He went to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and got involved in some left-leaning causes and the University Gay and Lesbian Caucus. In high school he dressed like a hippie, then by the late 1970s he was dressing somewhat punk. He went to graduate school at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and transitioned from being a painter to being a photographer and video artist. He made his first AIDS video “News From Home” in 1985 at graduate school. He got into the independent study program of the Whitney Museum, which brought him to New York in 1985. He started going to ACT UP in the fall of 1987, and quickly got involved in Gran Fury.

Role in ACT UP: Tom is a member of Gran Fury

Groups/friends at the meeting: the core group of Gran Fury; Cynthia Chris; Peter Bowen

Specific tasks at the March 13, 1989 meeting: Tom is on the agenda to make an announcement that Gran Fury is looking for models for a Kissing Project.

Additional information: https://actuporalhistory.org/numerical-interviews/042-tom-kalin