By Faye Daigle

On April 17, approximately forty visitors gathered in the Prima Room in Jones Hall to listen to drag queens Monique Michaels-Alexander, Vantasia Divine, and Lexis Redd D’Ville discuss the culture and craft of drag in New Orleans. Moderated by scholarly engagement librarian Kay P. Maye, the panel focused on the performers’ creative processes and the city’s influence on their work. It was held as part of “Fashioning the Queen,” a collaborative event hosted by Tulane University Special Collections (TUSC) and Tulane University Libraries Scholarly Engagement. 

The queens arrived in their first looks, channeling 1980s glamour as they shared their stories with an attentive audience. Each performer spoke candidly about the challenges and joys of their art, recalling early memories of making looks out of garbage bags, adding last-minute details before performances, and competing in local pageants. 

After the panel, attendees enjoyed refreshments outside of the second-floor gallery before the performance portion of the event. Each queen then took the floor for a two- to three-minute set in elaborate looks featuring sequins, rhinestones, latex, and mesh. Guests watched on as the queens delivered high kicks and splits in stiletto boots, with one performer even executing a headstand. Throughout the show, the crowd kept their oohs and ahhs at a library-appropriate volume but were delighted nonetheless. 

Overall, “Fashioning the Queen” demonstrated the power of creative, collaborative outreach in connecting university audiences with local artists. By pairing a panel discussion with a live performance, the event allowed the queens to both discuss and demonstrate their artistry in an unconventional setting. In turn, TUSC’s current gallery exhibition, Cut from a Different Cloth: Fashion Selections from Tulane Special Collections, served as a fitting backdrop for the queens’ performances. Guests explored the exhibition before and after the show, creating space to reflect on connections between the collection materials on display and the performers’ live craft.