Fulfilled Fantasies
Contemporary Chicago Drag Works
Feb 28, 2019 - Apr 1, 2019
“Fantasy lives in the moment the corset is pulled tight. In the moment the beat drops and the queen death drops. In the moment the king dons his suit jacket and strikes a pose. When the persona is complete and the drag performer becomes lost in the illusion, that is when we “feel the fantasy.”
— Kelly Boner
Kelly Boner
Curator
Kelly Schmader, better known as Kelly Boner, graduated from the CCC’s Master of Arts Management in 2019. Kelly is a drag performer and is deeply involved with Chicago’s drag community. Currently, she works at CCC as an Adjunct Professor teaching The Art of Drag.
“My driving passion and ambition is in the arts; I'm interested in organizations that bring a democratic treatment to art and strive to make it available to as wide of a range an audience as possible. I believe the hardships of life are alleviated, mitigated, and illuminated through creative expression. The more people who are given outlets for this creativity, the better off the world will be.”
- Kelly Boner
Curatorial Statement
To practice drag well is to be a master (or mistress) of the reference. The contour of a cheek. The color of an eyelid. The crackle of wit on the mic. Every element is a layered conception of gender and appearance – eyelashes to eyeshadow, lip shape to lip sync, and wig sculpting to body shaping.
Fulfilled Fantasies surveys the practice of drag in 2018 Chicago, documenting nascent drag performers to Rupaul’s Drag Race alumni. Fulfilled Fantasies features over 30 works by 14 Chicago artists whose subject matter is drag and gender illusion.
Featured artists include Maurene Cooper, Todd Diederich, Dorian Electra, Natalie Escobedo, Chamilla Fox, Niki Grangruth and James Kinser, Andie McKenzie Meadows, Yolo Ono, Adam Ouahmane, Phazma Plazma, Authentic Skidmark, Gidget Von Addams, and Alex Wallbaum.
Hokin Team: Michael Albanese, Zhizhou Chen, Belle Denby, Ry Douglas, Kenneth Guthrie, Amy He, Candice Hemphill, Xin Liu, Maurizio Marrero, Thomas McIlroy, Dimitri Moore, George Chen, Kelly Schmader, Allen Stewart, Lana Stewart, Emma Travis, Elena Vincent, Sydney Wilson, Jingru Xu, Yujia Zhang
Left to right: Maurene Cooper photographing Khloe Park. Niki Grangruth photographing James Kinser. Natalie Escobedo photographing Auntie Heroine Pastry Kream. Adam Ouahmane photographing Laila McQueen. Alex Wallbaum photographing Honey Dijon. Andie Meadows photographing Lucy Stoole.