Vermont Folklife Center Education » Vision & Voice » Exhibitions » Backstage at the Rainbow Cattle Co
Vision & Voice Documentary Workspace
Presents:
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Backstage at the Rainbow Cattle Co.
The Drag Queens of Dummerston, Vermont
Vermont Folklife Center
Vision & Voice Documentary Workspace
88 Main Street, Middlebury, VT 05753
(802) 388-4964
September 9, 2011 – December 4, 2011
Backstage at the Rainbow Cattle Co.: The Drag Queens of Dummerston, Vermont grew out of a two-year project during which photographer Evie Lovett passed many hours backstage at the Rainbow Cattle Co., a gay bar on a rural strip of Route 5 in Dummerston, Vermont, just north of Brattleboro.
Once a month at the Rainbow Cattle Co., Miss Kitty Rawhide, Miss Candi Schtick, Miss Sophia Penelope Precious, Miss Mercedes Roulette and Miss Mama Mayhem transformed from their everyday lives as nurse, C&S executive, Vermont Yankee manager, Target employee and became glamorous, glittering drag queens for a night of performance.
For Evie the photographic project was personally transformative: “Ultimately, I came to deeply respect these men (and one woman) for being in touch with who they are. Drag for them is a means to explore creativity and a sense of fun. Knowing them has prompted me to ask myself: how do I let my hair down?”
Backstage at the Rainbow Cattle Co. has toured to Boston, New York, Phnom Penh (as part of Cambodia’s fifth Gay Pride Week) and Cape Cod. The exhibit opens at the Vermont Folklife Center with the exciting addition of the drag queens’ voices—thoughts, opinions, and musings—in the form of audio excerpts from recent interviews undertaken by Lovett and Vermont Folklife Center Director of Education, Gregory L. Sharrow.
We hear about Candi’s first trip to buy a gown at Lord and Taylor, of what it was like to grow up “different” in a small town in Vermont, how each responds to the inevitable question, "do you want to be a woman?" (The answer, across the board: no!) This exhibition shows us the world of Vermont drag queens. We see it from the inside out.
Backstage at the Rainbow Cattle Co.: The Drag Queens of Dummerston, Vermont will be at the Vermont Folklife Center’s Vision & Voice Documentary Workspace from September 9, 2011-December 4, 2011.
Join us on Friday, September 9, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the Vermont Folklife Center for an opening reception.
Links to Additional Exhibit Resources
- Complete Web exhibit :: link
- Selected images from the exhibition :: link
- Evie Lovett's Website :: link
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