Miss/They Camaraderie 2024
“Miss/They Camaraderie 2024 is an immersive exhibition into the world of drag performance and Black pageantry where the artworks are the “beauty queens” and the exhibition, the stage. Featuring seven artists whose works draw upon archival research and contemporary lens-based practices, Miss/They Camaraderie 2024 is a subversive and imaginative display of beauty, femininity, and non-binary expression.
Curated by Charlotte Street Curatorial Fellow Yashi Davalos, Miss/They Camaraderie 2024 is an exhibition where “beauty begets camaraderie,” where viewers are showered in a glittering showcase of opulence, vanity, and queer identity.”
Featuring:
Boi Boy (Kansas City, MO), John Brant (Kansas City, MO), Delaney George (Los Angeles, CA), Jackob Graves (Kansas City, MO), Nasir Anthony Montalvo (Kansas City, MO), SunYoung Park (Kansas City, MO), and Trenity Thomas (New Orleans, LA)
Installations:
”Lord, Lady, Labia”
“Realness”
Description:
Both installs utilize material directly from Black queer archival project, {B/qKC}, in juxtaposing the surrealist elements in the show–specifically examining Black queer pageantry through the lens of Black masculine lesbians, drag queens, and guided by video histories told by Tisha Taylor.
Close-up image of TV install as part of larger "Lord, Lady Labia" installation. (Photographer: EG Schampf) (Nasir Anthony Montalvo, "Lord, Lady Labia," January 2024, Mixed-media installation as part of {B/qKC}).
Right: Full "Lord, Lady Labia" installation. (Photographer: EG Schampf) (Nasir Anthony Montalvo, "Lord, Lady Labia," January 2024, Mixed-media installation as part of {B/qKC}).
Left foreground: "Realness" installation. (Photographer: EG Schampf) (Nasir Anthony Montalvo, "Lord, Lady Labia," January 2024, Mixed-media installation as part of {B/qKC}).
Kimi Kitada watches video history as part of "Lord, Lady Labia" installation. (Photographer: EG Schampf) (Nasir Anthony Montalvo, "Lord, Lady Labia," January 2024, Mixed-media installation as part of {B/qKC}).
Right: "Realness" installation. (Photographer: EG Schampf) (Nasir Anthony Montalvo, "Lord, Lady Labia," January 2024, Mixed-media installation as part of {B/qKC}).
“BLACK QUEER PAGEANTRY” (2024)
as part of Black queer digital archive, {B/qKC}
05:16 minutes
Created by Nasir Anthony Montalvo and Zach Frazier
Starring Craig Lovingood, also known as Tisha Taylor
Recorded on Sony DCR-SR60.
Digitally-edited, and transferred onto Standard Grade T-120 VHS tape.
Tisha Taylor speaks of her relationship to Black beauty, femininity and pageantry. (Video by Nasir Anthony Montalvo and Zach Frazier. Recorded on Sony DCR-SR60, digitally-edited, and transferred onto Standard Grade T-120 VHS tape. Playing on GE Spacemaker 7-7660A Color TV/Radio in “Realness” install.)
“WHAT IS SOAKIE’S?” (2024)
as part of Black queer digital archive, {B/qKC}
05:16 minutes
Created by Nasir Anthony Montalvo and Zach Frazier
Starring Craig Lovingood, also known as Tisha Taylor
Recorded on Sony DCR-SR60.
Digitally-edited, and transferred onto Standard Grade T-120 VHS tape.
A slideshow of photos from {B/qKC} as Tisha Taylor tells the story of Soakie’s: a Black gay bar in Kansas City from 1993 - 2004. (Video by Nasir Anthony Montalvo and Zach Frazier. Recorded on Sony DCR-SR60, digitally-edited, and transferred onto Standard Grade T-120 VHS tape. Playing on Samsung BT-123AJ portable TV/Radio in “Lord, Lady, Labia” install.)
