Ivie Bartlett
Sam & Conn, A Night At The Theatre Ball, 2023
Hahnemühle Photo Rag Matte Paper
Edition 1 of 5
Wenge flat open grain box frame
Edition 1 of 5
Wenge flat open grain box frame
44 x 29 cm
17 3/8 x 11 3/8 in
17 3/8 x 11 3/8 in
Photo: Eva Herzog
Sam & Conn, A Night At The Theatre Ball Taken at a Kiki Ball hosted by Amani and Jazz from Ballroom Kiki House Laveaux, two walkers Sam & Conn compete...
Sam & Conn, A Night At The Theatre Ball
Taken at a Kiki Ball hosted by Amani and Jazz from Ballroom Kiki House Laveaux, two walkers Sam & Conn compete in the Body category. Honouring late Irene Cara, the first black woman to win an Oscar in a non-acting category, they face off in 80s workout wear for the grand prize.
These works give an intimate glimpse into the intentional community that ballroom cultivates. The kiki scene was built to allow members of the community the chance, separate from the main ballroom scene, to further build on and display their skills, meet international members of their houses and for those who aren’t yet part of a house potentially catch the eye of one of the ever expanding houses. The ballroom scene, as a space built by and for black and brown trans and queer people, provides a safe and constructive environment for multiple modes of creativity, going beyond movement to include fashion design, styling, lipsyncing, set design and more. This unbridled creativity can be seen proudly displayed by the walkers in these images.
Like the majority of Ivie’s work, these photos were shot on film – in part to reference the initial boom of ballroom in the 80s, and also highlight how much of this archival imagery of the ballroom scene throughout it's conception in the 60s to present day has been lost or obfuscated. Photographers such as Chantal Regnault were integral to the recording of ballroom – but many images taken by members of the community have been lost, due to time, the impact of the AIDS epidemic and lack of interest from archivists. Now that ballroom has had a resurgence in mainstream popular culture, will we see the care that is shown to other artforms be extended to this scene?
Taken at a Kiki Ball hosted by Amani and Jazz from Ballroom Kiki House Laveaux, two walkers Sam & Conn compete in the Body category. Honouring late Irene Cara, the first black woman to win an Oscar in a non-acting category, they face off in 80s workout wear for the grand prize.
These works give an intimate glimpse into the intentional community that ballroom cultivates. The kiki scene was built to allow members of the community the chance, separate from the main ballroom scene, to further build on and display their skills, meet international members of their houses and for those who aren’t yet part of a house potentially catch the eye of one of the ever expanding houses. The ballroom scene, as a space built by and for black and brown trans and queer people, provides a safe and constructive environment for multiple modes of creativity, going beyond movement to include fashion design, styling, lipsyncing, set design and more. This unbridled creativity can be seen proudly displayed by the walkers in these images.
Like the majority of Ivie’s work, these photos were shot on film – in part to reference the initial boom of ballroom in the 80s, and also highlight how much of this archival imagery of the ballroom scene throughout it's conception in the 60s to present day has been lost or obfuscated. Photographers such as Chantal Regnault were integral to the recording of ballroom – but many images taken by members of the community have been lost, due to time, the impact of the AIDS epidemic and lack of interest from archivists. Now that ballroom has had a resurgence in mainstream popular culture, will we see the care that is shown to other artforms be extended to this scene?