Agosto Machado (died March 21, 2026) was an American performance and visual artist, activist, and archivist. He was a major figure in the New York City downtown arts scene beginning in the 1960s.
Machado was orphaned as a child. He grew up in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. As a child, he started collecting pictures of food he found in newspapers and magazines, as much of what was depicted wasn't available to him personally but he was familiar with the foods from gazing into restaurant windows. His collection grew to include a diverse array of objects including "costumes, photos, artworks, toys, posters, notes, jewelry, footwear, and more".
Machado chose the name Agosto Machado for himself in 1959. The name "Machado" was a tribute to the Chinese-Portuguese fashion model China Machado.
The first play he was in was Vain Victory by Jackie Curtis in 1971.
He performed various experimental theater productions in downtown Manhattan venues. He appeared regularly with Ethyl Eichelberger until the drag star's death in 1990.
He was active in the Stonewall Riots in 1969. When reflecting on the Riots, he said, "The situation at hand was like a magnet. With street kids like me, we had nothing to lose. That was the action of the moment and the time. It was an event." He was a member of the pioneering gay activist group the Gay Activists Alliance.
As an artist, Machado constructed shrine-like assemblages, often to friends who had died during the AIDS crisis in New York City in the 1980s. Gallerists Sam Gordon and Jacob Robichaux mounted a show of his work in 2022 at their gallery, Gordon Robichaux. They exhibited his work at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2024. Shrines were acquired by the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 2026, four of his shrines, including one to Eichelberger, were selected for the 2026 Whitney Biennial.
Machado died in New York City on March 21, 2026. He directed his representatives not to reveal his age or birth year upon his death, having previously said of the decision, "A lady never tells." frieze reported that Machado was "believed to be in his 80s".