Next up in our Artist Profile series is Keiko Hiromi, one of the Mass Cultural Council’s Photography Fellowship awardees who will be showing her work at the upcoming exhibition at the The New Art Center in Newton, MA.
Welcome to Jacques Cabaret! Jacques Cabaret (est. 1931) is one of the oldest drag queen venues in Boston, MA… The lights are dim, the music starts, and the opening number begins. As I watched these really tall women work the stage and interact with the audience, I was blown away by their raw and uncut power.
Off and on, over the past five years, I would frequent Jacques to make photographs of the girls. After seeing their stage show, I was really interested in capturing them behind the scenes – the making of a drag queen.
One weekend when I didn’t make it to a performance, one of the girls said to me, “Keiko, you missed your routine last week.” I was really happy to hear that – the girls now refer to me as their Ninja photographer.
I have been afforded the opportunity to get to know the queens and the people at Jacques, not just as subjects but also as individuals. The spotlight continues to shine on them through my photographs.
Mass Cultural Council Artist Fellows and Finalist Photography Exhibition
February 28- March 23, 2014
Opening Reception: Friday, February 28, 6-8:30 pm
Artist Talk: Tuesday, March 4, 11am
New Art Center, 61 Washington Park, Newtonville, MA 02460. Gallery hours: Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm; Saturday 1 – 5pm. The exhibition is free, open to the public and accessible to all.
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