Critically acclaimed gender-fluid drag queen, visual artist, speaker, illustrator and author, Sasha Velour has been a force in the international drag scene long before her scene-stealing, rose-petal-filled win on season nine of the Emmy Award-winning RuPaul’s Drag Race. Her first book, The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag has been heralded as “a rousing tribute to a revolutionary art form and its practitioners” (Publisher’s Weekly).
In her Phil Lind Initiative talk titled The Big Reveal: Why Drag Matters, Velour will delve into queer history and the importance of drag as an expression of oneself, as a revolutionary act of visibility for queer culture, and as a rich, multifaceted and politically-charged art form that delights and disrupts. “Drag embodies the queer possibility that exists within each of us,” Velour states, “the infinite ways in which gender, good taste, and art can be lived.”
Velour’s first one-queen drag show Smoke & Mirrors was called a “spell-binding tour de force” (Forbes) touring to over 80 cities around the world from 2019-22. Her acclaimed NYC drag show NightGowns was adapted into a docu-series in 2020 and recently completed a sold-out residency at Manhattan’s Le Poisson Rouge. Velour’s star continues to rise with a brand-new stage work created in connection to her book, as well as a role hosting the fourth season of HBO’s Peabody and Emmy-Award winning tv show We’re Here. She was also recently commissioned by the Tony Award-winning Tectonic Theatre Project to star in and co-create a new theatrical work premiering in 2024.
“In this showstopping debut…Velour seamlessly mixes rigorous scholarship with inspirational aphorisms and heartfelt anecdotes about finding community and navigating the pitfalls of mainstream success, while enriching the narrative with copious photographs and illustrations. This is a rousing tribute to a revolutionary art form and its practitioners.” — Publishers Weekly
The Phil Lind Initiative is presented by UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs in partnership with the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts.
TICKETS
Tickets for the in-person event available starting Thursday March 7 at 12PM. FREE while quantities last (max 2 per order).
