‘The Queen’ Celebrates Drag at The Frost Art Museum

Jesse Fraga/Contributing Writer

“Before Rupaul’s Drag Race. Before Paris is Burning. There was The Queen,” expressed in the movie trailer of The Queen.

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at FIU will be partnering with Flaming Classics on Thursday, Oct. 17 to present a night full of drag and a movie to showcase where the drag scene all began: The Queen.

Flaming Classics, a Miami-based queer cinema organization, aims to create “a sense of social activism, community building, and fun,” as stated in their program’s objectives. 

This film challenges common perceptions of gender and sexuality, capturing the essence of the New York drag scene and pageant culture in the 1960s. 

Directed by Frank Simon, The Queen takes a behind-the-scenes look at a major drag competition, the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Pageant. 

While this pageant was popular in the world of drag, it was kept underground in order to avoid the public’s attention, since drag and homosexuality were illegal at the time.

The documentary follows drag queen Flawless Sabrina as she becomes the forefront of this movement, developing an influx of drag pageants across the United States.

Since then, drag has become a mainstream practice in the realm of queer art and continues to evolve into more fluid expressions of gender. 

The Queen has only recently gained widespread attention since its release in 1968.

In an effort to create an inclusive atmosphere, Emily Afre, an education specialist at the Frost Art Museum, helped organize the event. 

“It is important for students to understand this important era in American history,” Afre said.

In conjunction with The Frost’s current exhibition, Art After Stonewall, she added, “It served as a catalyst for the modern queer liberation movement.”

After a year of planning for the event, Flaming Classics knew The Queen would go hand-in-hand with the Art After Stonewall exhibit.

Corresponding with the Art After Stonewall exhibit, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. 

Miss Ultimate Drag Queen Miami 2019, Karla Croqueta, will be hosting a live performance and discussion after the movie screening.

“We [The Frost Art Museum] hope the film and performance will leave our community feeling empowered to live authentically,” said Karla Croqueta.

Karla Croqueta will not be holding a formal meet-and-greet at the event but attendees will have the opportunity to engage with her throughout the night.

Flaming Classics: The Queen occurs on Thursday, Oct. 17 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at FIU’s Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum.

For more information on the event and to RSVP, visit https://frost.fiu.edu/exhibitions-events/events/2019/10/flaming-classics-the-queen.html.