An art show centred around Beyoncé, entertainment and inclusivity is intriguing to say the least. For the past four years, Christina Chant and some friends have been running springtime art shows based on different celebrities. These have ranged from Snoop Dogg (Drop It Like It’s Art) to Steven Seagal (The Steven Seagallery) to the Spice Girls (The Zig-a-Zigallery) and began following a trip to Burning Man festival.
“My friend and I got together over one summer and found art of various qualities to put up at Burning Man,” said Chant. “When we got back with all the leftover art, we found a venue who would hold an art show for us, with no experience whatsoever.”
A far cry from the traditional art show, Chant uses a mixture of satire and theatricality to produce these shows each year. According to the Facebook event, over 900 people are planning on attending the exhibition entitled Flawless: A Beyoncé Inspired Art Show and Fundraiser.
Jocelyn Lougheed, a geography student at UBC, is participating in the fundraiser, her interest stemming from the Snoop Dogg-themed show. “It’s pretty great being able to make art that maybe isn’t the greatest quality,” she said. “But when it gets into the show, you can tell all your friends, which is pretty fun.”
Lougheed’s contribution to Flawless is a set of playing card-themed pictures, with a Beyoncé premise worked into the names of each. Other works in the show include a mash up of Beyoncé and Sarah Kerrigan from the game StarCraft, a piece by Patrick Lemoine, a UBC philosophy student.
“I got involved around the same time as Jocelyn,” said Lemoine. “It’s strictly no talent necessary, which is probably one of the best things about the show.”
Chant is keen to state that the show is less “no talent necessary,” than “all talents welcome.”
Alongside the varied art, Flawless is also entertaining some performances from dance-offs, to “Beard-oncé,” to monologues. First-year Arts student Nkirote Waiganjo is performing a piece based on Beyoncé’s music in spoken form.
“It’s based on songs like 'Single Ladies' and all the songs that Beyoncé has released about female empowerment, gender equality and independence,” she said. Waiganjo is passionate about the cause of the fundraiser, the Positive Women’s Network. “I think in many ways she embodies independence, and she’s a role model for many women,” Waiganjo said. “I feel like many times we know the lyrics to a song but we don’t really listen to them or pay attention because of the beat -- when they're spoken we hear things that we sometimes might miss.”
The Positive Women’s Network is Canada’s longest-running HIV organization for women, providing support, education and resources for women living with HIV in British Columbia. All proceeds from Flawless will go directly to the organization.
They are accepting submissions until April 12 for all forms of paintings, short stories, drag, mixed media, video, sculpture and anything else -- the only catch is that it must express Beyoncé in some way.
The show is April 18, at Studio East from 7 p.m.
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