“Connecting generations has been an invaluable part of this process,” Eli said. School of Drag participants engage in movement exercises, develop a drag character, create their own costume, choose props, invent a drag name and perform in front of a live audience at the Creative Aging workshop’s culminating event. “No matter your age, you have something to offer, teach and learn,” said Dante. ![]() Inspired by his prior work in queer performance art, Dante created School of Drag which gives Boys R Us members the opportunity to observe and mentor the youth and 55+ participants. The gender-bending troupe explores societal roles, image, self-esteem, self-projection and identification through performance. After attending a youth drag program performance, the 55+ community who are involved in the museum’s programs asked that this program be offered to them and together, Dante and Eli made the School of Drag program possible.ĭante’s own experience with gender performance began with Boys R Us, the longest running gender performance troupe in the world, which he founded in Arizona in 2002. After facilitating a 55+ LGBTQIA+ community program at the museum, Eli realized that not only did this age group need more creative outlets to explore, but these programs were missing a larger part of the community with critical voices. Participatory arts programs that the Museum offered in the past were geared towards youth. Made possible through a Seeding Vitality Arts in Museums grant from Aroha Philanthropies, School of Drag is the first intergenerational participatory arts program at the museum to explore the history and social construction of gender through performance. ![]() ![]() School of Drag creator, Dante Celeiro, leads this Creative Aging workshop series with Eli Burke, teaching artist and Education Director at MOCA. School of Drag, a Creative Aging program collaboration between the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tucson, AZ (MOCA) and Fluxx Productions, is a 10-week workshop series that invites 55+ LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual, non-binary, pansexual, etc.) community members to explore art, narrative and performance which culminates into a showcase featuring performers of all ages and local professional drag performers.
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