A street painted with a human figure surrounded by flowers. Right: Drag queen Barbada wears a bright pink wig and colourful top.
Courtesy of MBAM.Montreal's Museum of Fine Arts is bringing the art of drag to its painted avenue downtown. On July 30, famed local performer Barbada and guests will present Drag Brunch MTL outdoors on the freshly decorated Avenue du Musée.
The Saturday morning show will be bilingual and open to adults and teens with an intergenerational focus.
Host Barbada has been entertaining drag show audiences across the province since 2005. This year she was the first Quebec drag queen to host her own televised children's show.
Barbada created Drag Brunch MTL to make the art of drag more accessible in festive environments. There are few settings quite as colourful as the museum's ruelle.
This year, it was painted by Montreal-based street artist Doras. The entirety of the road depicts the character Niamh from Irish mythology surrounded by flowers and holding a snake in pastel pink, yellow, and powder blue. According to legend, she lived in the Land of Youth with her husband Oisín, who leaves to visit Ireland and breaks her rule about touching the ground there, so he turns old and can never see her again.
The work was inspired by L'heure mauve by Swiss artist Nicolas Party, which is on show at the museum. Party uses saturated colours and a limited palette to explore the relationship between humans and nature.
The Avenue du Musée will also offer the backdrop for story time with Malian musician and storyteller Hamidou Savadogo on July 16, in collaboration with the International Festival Nuits d'Afrique. In late August, group Arashi Daiko will combine traditional Japanese drumming with movement and vocal elements to put on a show reminiscent of martial arts.
MBAM x Drag Brunch MTL
When: July 30, 11 a.m.
Where: Avenue du Musée
Cost: Free
