...the performance ...the exhibition ...the programs & events ...the exhibition statement

Passing: Fashioning Drag ... the performance LAL @ Buster's Billiards & Backroom 899 Manchester St., Lexington, KY 40508 May 7 & May 8 | Doors 8p | $20 advance; $25 door View the artistry, theatre and mystery of the most elaborate drag performance in recent state history. As part of the exhibition, Passing: Fashioning Drag, LAL welcomes you to Buster’s Billiards & Backroom for a two-night only event. Both shows will feature celebrated designer Patryq Howell’s couture creations on regional and national marquee drag queens, many broadway experienced and nationally acclaimed.  Sponsored by Dr. Nick Kouns, in partnership with the Imperial Court of Kentucky and Lexington Fairness. Supported by Buster’s Billiards & Backroom, Mia’s, Inspired Apparel and Katherine Newsome Lefebvre. Special thanks: Beau Graphics, Beaux Arts Ball, Chelsea Pearl, Dynamix Productions, The GLSO News, The Imperial Court of Kentucky, The LAL Street Team, Natasha's Drag Show Brunch, Phillip Marcum and Tim Burcham, MD Update, WRFL Passing: Fashioning Drag ... the exhibition LAL @ Loudoun House April 23 – June 26, 2010 Drawing on the rich history of drag in Central Kentucky, Passing: Fashioning Drag includes a gallery exhibition and two nights of drag performances.  The exhibition highlights the art of drag costuming through photographs by Transylvania University professors Kremena Todorova and Kurt Gohde and gowns made by Lexington designer Patryq Howell. Curious about the inspiration behind the project? Read about how it began and stay tuned to Art Beat for more background. Concurrently, Alternate Selves, which will also be at LAL @ Loudoun House, explores the transformative power of costume and investigates issues surrounding personal identity.   Sponsored by Dr. Nick Kouns, in partnership with the Imperial Court of Kentucky and Lexington Fairness. Image above: MusicBox II by Kremena Todorova and Kurt Gohde Passing: Fashioning Drag ... the preview, ARTalks, film screenings, programs... LAL @ Loudoun House April 23 - June 26, 2010 Please see our events page and our workshops page for updated information surrounding both exhibitions. Passing: Fashioning Drag ... the exhibition statement "Passing began in the spring of 2008 when the Kentucky Oral History Commission funded twenty oral history interviews (a second grant received a year later supported seven more interviews) intended to record stories from and document the lives of Lexington’s drag queens and kings.  We started taking photographs a few months later to create more layered representations of the performers who became part of our project.  We have photographed them on and off stage as they sew outfits, apply makeup, and prepare to perform.  We have visited them in their homes, joined them at fundraising events, and followed their performances in six local bars.  Throughout this process we have also been writing short vignettes inspired both by the stories we heard during the interviews and by the individual performers we watched on stage.  Now in its third year, Passing has become an ongoing tribute to Lexington’s queens and kings that also aims to remove some of the social barriers surrounding the gay community in Kentucky." - Kremena Todorova and Kurt Gohde Listen to the recorded stories. Learn more about the work of the Imperial Court of Kentucky and Lexington Fairness. Read the press releases surrounding the exhibition and our partners.