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Shavings

The Bearded Ladies Cabaret
The Bearded Ladies perform at Laurel Hill Picnic, 2023. Pictured: Josh Machiz, Jarbeaux, and Heath Allen. The Bearded Ladies are performing a weekly series to reflect on artistic sustainability through a queer cabaret lens. Photo by Wide Eyed Studios.
The Bearded Ladies perform at Laurel Hill Picnic, 2023. Pictured: Josh Machiz, Jarbeaux, and Heath Allen. The Bearded Ladies are performing a weekly series to reflect on artistic sustainability through a queer cabaret lens. Photo by Wide Eyed Studios.
US performs at The Bearded Ladies’ Late Night Snacks. Photo by Johanna Austin
US performs at The Bearded Ladies’ Late Night Snacks. Photo by Johanna Austin
Messapotamia Lefae performs at The Bearded Ladies’ Late Night Snacks. Photo by Johanna Austin
Messapotamia Lefae performs at The Bearded Ladies’ Late Night Snacks. Photo by Johanna Austin

A large-scale installation and a performance series reflect on the realities and challenges of making art. Inspired by the physical accumulation of fifteen years of art practice—old props, scenery, videos, paper documents, and other materials—the project examines whether artistic sustainability or ethical arts consumption are possible. Weekly performances draw from grief rituals and funerary practices to explore ideas of transition, ephemerality, and legacy through the Bearded Ladies’ queer cabaret lens. Each performance is devised iteratively, building on the previous week's performances and drawing on audience contributions toward a culminating cabaret-concert performance.  

The total grant amount represents project funding plus an additional 20% in unrestricted general operating support.

Recipient
The Bearded Ladies Cabaret

The Bearded Ladies Cabaret

The Bearded Ladies is a queer arts organization that creates original performances and platforms in genre-bending styles, from cabaret to opera to musical walking tours to the Beardmobile "mobile performance unit." The organization has collaborated with artists like Justin Vivian Bond and Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi and performed in venues including the Kimmel Center, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, and La MaMa.

More info
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