{B/qKC}: Volume_1
Featuring:
Nasir Anthony Montalvo
The Kansas City Defender (digital hosting site)
Funders + Partners:
Stories For All ($7,000)
BlaqOut ($1,000)
Vivent Health ($500)
Oddities Prints (in-kind support)
BLK + BRWN. (exhibit partner)
PH Coffee (exhibit partner)
Café Corazón (exhibit partner)
{B/qKC} began as a journalism series as a two-fold response to (1) the lack of local resources and spaces for Black queer community members to relish in, and (2) local universities and institutions retaining ownership of a small portion of Black queer KC histories with no plans to digitize or widely share any of the artifacts donated to them. Since {B/qKC}’s founding in April 2022, the project has “liberated” various aspects of Kansas City’s Black queer history: including information on the first documented Black drag queens of Kansas City, an organization of gay men fighting racism in the community in the 90’s, and a gay and lesbian variety show called “Out There” that aired on public-access cable.
Volume_1 of {B/qKC} was Montalvo’s liberatory research and work into their local archives, namely the Gay and Lesbian Archives of Mid-America.
The below attachments are the culmination of Montalvo’s groundbreaking work that started it all.
RESEARCH
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Remembering Edye and Ray: The First (Well-Documented) Black Drag Queens of Kansas City
Edye Gregory and Ray Rondell are some of Kansas City’s first documented Black Drag Queens and, more broadly, part of the only recorded histories of Black, Queer Kansas Citians at large.
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Men of All Colors Together: The Kansas City organization fighting racism amidst gay men in the 80’s–90’s
In 1980, this group of Kansas Citians founded a social club and safe space for those seeking to fight racism amongst gay men of all races.
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Kansas City’s “Out There”: The 90’s Gay & Lesbian Variety Show Featuring Lea Hopkins
In 1993, a group of 16 people came together to launch Kansas City’s first-ever Gay and Lesbian Variety Show on American Cablevision in light of statewide, anti-queer legislation.
Multi-Location Exhibit
Location(s)
PH Coffee, BLK + BRWN., Café Corazón
Dates
02/27/2023 - 03/02/2023
Type
Solo Exhibitions
Material(s)
Frames, photos, fruit, lace tablecloth, baskets, candles, glass, water, foliage
In early 2023, after writing research and writing Volume 1 of {B/qKC} as a journalism series, Montalvo morphed the project into a multi-location, self-service exhibit from February 27th – March 4th, 2023 hosted at PH Coffee, BLK + BRWN, and Café Corazón.
Each location’s exhibit was curated as an altar, centering a particular figure from Montalvo’s research.
In picking exhibit locations across the City, Montalvo wanted to embrace various aspects of their own identity, and make their research as accessible, innovative and sexy as possible.
Café Corazón
Altar for Quience X. Sykes.
Learn about Quience X. Sykes, an activist fighting racism amidst gay men >
PH Coffee
Altar for Lea Hopkins (living)
Learn about Lea Hopkins, founder of the Kansas City Pride Parade >
BLK + BRWN.
Atlar for Edye Gregory and Ray Rondell
Learn about Edye Gregory and Ray Rondell,
the first well-documented Black drag queens of Kansas City >
close-up video capture of Quience’s altar
by KC Rainbow Tour.
MERCHANDISE
In collaboration with Oddities Prints, limited edition merchandise was created for the exhibits as well–utilizing photos and motifs from Montalvo’s research into the Gay and Lesbian Archives of Mid-America.
Volume_1 Exhibit
Location(s)
The BlaqBox
Dates
05/01/2023 - 05/30/2023
Type
Solo Exhibition + Two Guest Installs
Material(s)
Frames, photos, lace tablecloth, televisions, foliage
In May, after beaming responses from The Mulit-Location Exhibit, Montalvo brought all of the atlars together for a special, solo exhibition (dubbed “Volume_1”) at The BlaqBox, formerly known as Alejandro Design Studio.
The exhibit began with a grand opening event and cocktail party on May 12th– and served as a celebration of Kansas City’s Black queer culture.
photos by Vaughan Harrison.
credits:
TV’s/computers and foliage displays by Thair Honeycutt.
printed display, along with specially printed zines by Astringent Press.
presented in partnership with BlaqOut.
supported by Vivent Health.
in-kind support from Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
additional thank-you’s to Queer Black KC, Queer Connect KC, Gay and Lesbian Archives of Mid-America (GLAMA).
