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.
As a storyteller, Mercedes Kane is forever fascinated by the human experience and the many ways to explore and express its contrast and connections. The founder of Daisy May Films, Mercedes most recently directed the documentaries Art and Pep (2022, Peacock), More with Less: The Power of HBCUs in America (2022), What Remains: The Burning Down of Black Wall Street (2021) and Breakfast at Ina’s (2016, Amazon Prime). Art and Pep premiered at OutFest before winning the Audience Award at the Chicago International Film Festival and being acquired by Peacock and APTV.
Mercedes is currently writing a feature story and developing a documentary about the dementia choir movement and the power of social singing. She will graduate with an MFA in narrative nonfiction from the University of Georgia in August of 2024. She happily resides in Atlanta with her husband, Sanghoon, their children Jasper and Daisy, and two mischievous tuxedo cats. Untold stories – and her young children – have been known to keep her up at night.
