The Web: The Birth and Legacy of New York’s First Asian Gay Bar is a zine documenting the history and legacy of The Web, one of New York City’s earliest and most significant nightlife spaces for Asian gay men. Operating in Manhattan from 1990 to 2013, The Web served not only as a bar and nightclub, but also as an important gathering place for Asian queer communities at a time when few spaces in the city centered their experiences.
The zine grew out of the 2025 exhibition The Web: The Birth and Legacy of New York’s First Asian Gay Bar at Gallery 456, co-curated by Yukai Chen and Xiaojing Zhu. Drawing from archival photographs, ephemera, and interviews with the founder Alan Chow and the mural painter Chen Danqing, the publication traces The Web’s nearly two-decade history, from its nightlife and performances to its participation in New York City Pride and its broader role in Asian American queer cultural life.
By bringing together materials that have largely remained in personal archives and community memory, the zine seeks to preserve a history that is at risk of disappearing and to situate The Web within the larger histories of Asian American, LGBTQ+, and New York City cultural life.
《盘丝洞：纽约第一家亚裔同志酒吧的诞生和遗产》记录了纽约盘丝洞（The Web）酒吧的历史及其文化遗产。盘丝洞于 1990年至 2013 年间在曼哈顿营业，是纽约早期最具代表性的亚裔男同性恋夜生活空间之一。在当时纽约鲜有以亚裔酷儿群体为核心的公共空间的背景下，盘丝洞不仅是一间酒吧和夜店，也是亚裔酷儿社群重要的聚会、交流与建立归属感的场所。
这本刊物源自456画廊于 2025 年举办的同名展览，由陈昱恺与朱晓静共同策展。通过档案照片、历史物件与印刷品，对盘丝洞创始人周龙章以及盘丝洞壁画创作者陈丹青的采访，本刊梳理了这间酒吧近二十年的历史，包括其夜生活与表演文化、参与纽约骄傲游行的经历，以及它在亚裔美国酷儿文化发展中所扮演的角色。
通过整理长期散落于个人档案与社群记忆中的材料，本项目希望保存和讲述一段正在逐渐消失的历史，并将盘丝洞重新置于亚裔美国史、LGBTQ+ 历史以及纽约城市文化史的脉络之中。
64 p.
Editor: Yukai Chen
Graphic Designer: Yang Sun
Acknowledgments: Alan Chow, Chen Danqing, Xiaojing Zhu, Xinyuan Cao
Fist Edition 2025
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