Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest People
Show must go on

Show must go on! I want to tell a story about the Drag Queen lifestyle. The main part of their life is performance. Whether it’s beloved plays, costumes or adult performances, the ability to dress up and play characters is core to artistic expression. I undertook an extensive and ambitious project documenting and portraying the New York, Berin, and Mexico Drag scene. An increasingly assertive drag scene came out of the shadow of its earlier underground existence – confident of its contribution towards an expanding conversation about gender. Preconceived conventional binary notions of gender and sex in society were fragmenting, giving way to a rich and nuanced spectrum. I set out to explore the underground performance world, shadowy and slightly unhinged, to introduce you closer to the world of Drag queens.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 08.2021
Date Uploaded: 10.2023
Photo Location: Berlin, Germany
Copyright: © Kasia idzkowska