Glitter, creativity and self-expression: young people discover the art of drag

The first weekend started with a look at the history of drag and queer culture. Videos, magazines, comics and images gave an impression of the diverse forms of expression of this art form. The participants then tried their hand at their first performance exercises and developed their own ideas for their stage characters. At the end of the weekend, it was curtains up for karaoke! On the second weekend (June 21 and 22), the young people honed their performance skills. The resulting figures were captured in self-designed zines and collages. Series such as "Drag Race Germany" and "King of Drags" provided inspiration and showed the different facets of drag - from glamorous, mystical, simply entertaining to political.

In the second week of the summer vacation (July 14 to 19), the focus was initially on make-up and styling. Feminine drag looks, as used by drag queens, and masculine styles, as used by drag kings, were learned and tried out. The young people put their previously sketched ideas into practice with the professional support of a drag artist. Then it was on to the outfits: the sewing machines rattled and costumes were created from a wide variety of materials, the stories about the alter egos were written and recorded in zines. Everything was done in preparation for the big photo shoot. This took place in the third week of the summer vacation (July 21-25). The young people's drag and cosplay looks were put in the right light at the professional photo shoot. In addition, a small exhibition of the resulting pictures was prepared and a final performance was worked on.
On July 25, the time had finally come: the young artists presented their alter egos on stage in front of family and friends. It was a brilliant finale that was rewarded with lots of applause.

In addition to the creative work, the workshop was also a space for encounters, exchange and mutual support. During these three weeks, many of the young people experienced for the first time being accepted and even celebrated for who they are: queer, creative, different from the norm. They strengthened each other, gave each other courage and experienced how valuable it is to try out new things in a safe, appreciative environment. The encounters with the various artists who are queer or support the community as allies were particularly enriching. "This gave the young people support and made them feel that they are not alone," adds Daniel Müller, adding that it was an important experience, as their everyday lives are often characterized by discrimination at school or in public spaces. Above all, the young people were able to discover completely new sides to themselves by playing with their alter egos: they became more self-confident in their appearance and courageously played with their feminine and/or masculine side. This experience opened up new perspectives for them and showed how liberating creative self-expression can be. And how important it is to have protected spaces in which they can try things out without prejudice. "The workshop showed how empowering drag can be," summarizes Müller: "On the surface, it was about costumes and make-up. But centrally, it was about discovering other sides to yourself, accepting them in yourself and others and having fun together in a safe environment."

The project was funded by "Meinland - Zeit für Zukunft" at KulturMachtStark. The funding partners were the "Turkish Community" and "Mein Land". It took place as part of queer youth work, accompanied by Daniel Müller from the KJK Sandgasse and in cooperation with the artists Katharina Hantke and Nora Schön, who designed the workshop.

Special thanks go to Valeria Castano Moreno, who provided the participants with home-cooked food every day, and Jana Gebhardt, who accompanied and documented the process photographically. Drag artist Dominik Keggenhoff, performance artist Marie Simons and photographer Nikolaus Kockel also enriched the project with their artistic expertise and helped the young people to realize their ideas.

You can find out more about what the Queers&Friends Café has to offer and see more pictures of the workshop on the Instagram channel: queer_cafe_of.