Hailing from Portland, Oregon, acclaimed American drag clown Carla Rossi (aka Anthony Hudson) brings you a conversational lecture-style workshop exploring the history and future of drag and gender.

Paying homage to a broad medley of drag’s legendary elders, artists and ancestors, Carla explores drag’s many varieties, flavours and houses, and how they correspond to the broad spectrum of genders and sexualites.

From the Two-Spirit gender shamans of pre-settler North America to the emergence in the late-1970s of activist group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Carla traces the cultural influence of figures such as David Bowie, Judith Butler and Disney villains to highlight the ways in which we all perform identities in our everyday lives.

Calling on icons such as Marsha P Johnson, Leigh Bowery, Elvira, Christeene and more, this is an inclusive, participatory session exploring the confluence of drag and gender and how we build performance and meaning.

This engagement is supported by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.