Michael Thoren Harmon (May 13, 1984 – March 4, 2025) was an American visual artist, graphic designer and

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

activist. He was a prominent fixture of the

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

district of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, living and working within the neighborhood. His commissioned murals and paintings were highly regarded, and he regularly organized community events to support the arts. Harmon and his longtime partner were both killed in a March 2025

home invasion A home invasion, also called a hot prowl burglary, is a sub-type of burglary (or in some jurisdictions, a separately defined crime) in which an offender unlawfully enters into a building residence while the occupants are inside. The overarching i ...

. Their deaths received widespread media coverage, and sparked an outpouring of public support for the

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

community.

Early life and education

Michael Thoren Harmon was born in

Cheektowaga, New York Cheektowaga (; ) is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is ...

, the son of Susan (née Knibbs) and Terrence Harmon, and had two brothers. He began drawing at the age of seven, and cited J. C. Leyendecker and Lester Beall as his primary influences. His father was a

boilermaker A boilermaker is a Tradesman, tradesperson who Metal fabrication, fabricates steels, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bure ...

by trade, and died following complications from a 1999 industrial accident. Frustrated by his suburban upbringing, Harmon found solace in visiting his aunt during the weekends in the city of Buffalo, and aspired to live there one day. While enrolled at

Cleveland Hill High School Cleveland Hill High School is a public high school located in Cheektowaga, Erie County, New York Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York (state), New York State. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 cen ...

, Harmon attended

BOCES ''Boces'' is the second album by Mercury Rev, released in 1993. It was their final album with frontman David Baker, who was asked to leave shortly after the supporting tour concluded. The title is derived from the Boards of Cooperative Educati ...

classes and received a certification in

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

. He graduated from

SUNY Erie SUNY Erie is a Public college, public community colleges in the United States, community college with three campuses in western New York (state), New York that serve residents in and near Erie County, New York, Erie County. It is part of the St ...

with an

associate's degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

, and then attained his

bachelor of fine arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

in graphic design from

Buffalo State University The State University of New York Buffalo State University (colloquially referred to as Buffalo State University, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo State, or simply Buff State) is a public college, public university in Buffalo, New York. It is part of ...

Career

Harmon, Alicia Paolucci and Tom Holt were the subjects of

Noah Falck Noah Falck (born April 23, 1977) is an American poet. Life and work Falck is the author of the poetry collections ''Exclusions'' (Tupelo Press, 2020) and ''Snowmen Losing Weight'' (BatCat Press, 2012). His work has appeared in Boston Review, ...

's 2014 short film, ''You Are In Nearly Every Future''.

Hallwalls Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center (aka Hallwalls) is a non-profit art organization located in Buffalo, New York. Since 1974, Hallwalls has shown and shows the work of contemporary artists of diverse backgrounds who work in film, video, literatu ...

hosted the unveiling of his ''Buffalo Minecraft'' project in 2015, a virtual recreation of the city of Buffalo in ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...

'' that took over two years to complete. The following year, he would appear at Hallwalls as part of their Artist's Talk series. He worked for

Rosen Publishing The Rosen Publishing Group is an American publisher specializing in educational books for pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Originally established in 1950 as Richards Rosen Press, the company is headquartered in New York City. In 1982, it change ...

from 2011 to 2016, illustrating the company's children's books and educational material. Harmon co-founded the Pine Apple Company gallery in 2016 with fellow artists James Moffitt and Sarah Liddell, which was later renamed to The Good Stuff. He was frequently commissioned to create paintings of private and public architecture, which he would sell prints of at the

gallery. After being fired from a real estate firm in 2018 when coworkers discovered his portfolio of

erotica Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...

artwork and complained, Harmon went into business for himself as a full-time artist. Harmon, James Moffitt and Sarah Liddell collaborated on their ''Niagara Street'' mural, which was commissioned by National Grid in 2019 and installed at 996 Busti Avenue. He created and installed a mural titled ''City of No Illusions'' within the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts atrium in 2022. Friends of Night People commissioned Harmon to create his ''Charity'' mural, which was installed at 394 Hudson Street in 2024.

Activism

Harmon identified as

and was renowned for his efforts to unite and uplift Buffalo's

community. He co-founded ''Exist, A Queer Festival'' in 2018, which has since become an annual event and been renamed to ''Intersect: A Pride Arts Festival''. While serving on the Allentown Association board, Harmon organized the monthly First Friday gallery walks to promote local artists and galleries. A collaborative

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

by Harmon and Ari Moore titled ''Stonewall Nation'' was installed at 44 Allen Street in 2020, honoring key historical figures of the LGBTQ movement. He served on the board of the Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project. Harmon started a volunteer

snow removal Snow removal or snow clearing is the job of removing snow after a snowfall to make travel easier and safer. This is done both by individual households and by governments institutions, and commercial businesses. De-icing and anti-icing De-icin ...

program with

residents in 2024 to protest Buffalo's lack of municipal sidewalk plowing. At the time of his death, Harmon was promoting the inaugural ''Queertopia'' festival he had founded, which was turned into an impromptu memorial to the artist and his partner.

Personal life and death

Harmon's mother died of cancer in 2018. He met partner and fellow artist Jordan Celotto online, and Celotto moved to Buffalo from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 2019 to live with Harmon. Celotto was born in the

Six Nations of the Grand River Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of whom live on the reserve. The six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy ...

, and identified as queer and twospirited. At the time of his death, Celotto was working at the Remedy House

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

while moonlighting locally as

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

DJ NuNu. Harmon and Celotto had two cats, named Beef and Chicken. Harmon and his longtime partner, Anthony "Jordan" Celotto, were both killed in a

at their 5 St. Louis Place apartment on March 4, 2025. The alleged killer, Bryan Chiclana, was charged with first and second-degree murder. Chiclana entered the home through a basement window that landlord Eric Hauser had failed to secure. Community members and politicians called on a house at 2 St. Louis Place across from the murder scene to be sold or demolished, as it was abandoned and known to attract

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...

. 2 St. Louis Place owner Charles Dobucki was arrested soon after for housing court violations. Zenata Everhart,

Buffalo Common Council The Buffalo Common Council is the legislative branch of the city of Buffalo, New York government. It is a representative assembly, with one elected member from each of nine districts: Niagara, Delaware, Masten, Ellicott, Lovejoy, Fillmore, North ...

representative of the neighboring Masten District, had just pulled funding for a proposed

homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of service and total institution that provides temporary residence for homelessness, homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather whi ...

a month before the murders due to concerns over property values.

Tributes, funeral, and burial

vigil A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...

was held for Harmon and Celotto in front of Harmon's ''Stonewall Nation'' mural on the evening of March 5, 2025. The Allentown Association announced on March 6, 2025 that it would see through Harmon's plan to turn vacant land at 169 Allen Street into an art-focused community space.

Adam Zyglis Adam O. Zyglis (born July 9, 1982) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning"Buffalo News cartoonist Adam Zyglis wins Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning", ''Buffalo News'', April 20, 2015 American editorial cartoonist who works for the ''Buffalo News'' of ...

of ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...

'' published a tribute to Harmon and Celotto on March 7, 2025 in place of his normal

political cartoon A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...

. The drawing, depicting Harmon holding an Allen Street signpost, has since been installed as a mural at the corner of Allen & Elmwood. Tim Kennedy of

New York's 26th congressional district New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

honored Harmon and Celotto on March 11, 2025 with a speech on the floor of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. Sean Ryan of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

honored Harmon and Celotto on March 11, 2025 with a senate resolution, speaking of their achievements and legacy on the senate floor.

hosted a Celebration of Life for Harmon and Celotto on March 22, 2025. After successful

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

campaigns to cover their funeral expenses, Harmon was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, with Celotto laid to rest in his native

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

References

External links

Official website

Profile
from

Burchfield Penney Art Center The Burchfield Penney Art Center, or just the Burchfield Penney, is an arts and educational institution part of Buffalo State University, located adjacent to the main campus in Buffalo, New York, United States. Dedicated to the art and visi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Mickey 1984 births 2025 deaths 20th-century American LGBTQ people 20th-century American male artists 20th-century American painters American LGBTQ rights activists American male painters Artists from New York (state) Buffalo State College alumni LGBTQ people from New York (state) People from Cheektowaga, New York People murdered in New York (state) SUNY Erie alumni