TQ Live!

The Dragon Sisters (Issa & OD) are a multidisciplinary nightlife duo based in Brooklyn. They are equal parts hip hop, pop, and classical. Conceived in the dance-theater world, the sisters have stormed stages across the globe–at events and venues including Bushwig, The Box, The Paradise Club, Sony Hall, The World Trade Center, the Park Avenue Armory, Lady Fag’s Holy Mountain, and various Voss Events productions. Their creative collaborations have included projects with Darrel Throne, Spencer Ludwig, and Ariana & the Rose. Their work as musicians, creators, muses and performers have been featured in publications including Elle Magazine, Vanity Fair, Vogue and Billboard.com. They are all things entertainment! Through their 12 yrs as best friends, these two sisters have found the need to share love, peace, kindness and excellence through their art.

RACHEL RAMPLEMAN

Rachel Rampleman creates bodies of work that explore subjects such as gender, artifice, and spectacle. Utilizing processes ranging from directorial to anthropological, she showcases exuberantly irrepressible personalities who revel in challenging clichés associated with masculinity and femininity. In early 2019 she embarked upon Life is Drag, a new series in which she documents her collaborations with the most singular and innovative artists of the currently exploding international alt-drag and alt-burlesque scenes. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and currently living and working in New York City, she received her MFA from New York University in 2006. Since then her work has been shown internationally at such venues as the Shanghai Biennale (Brooklyn Pavilion, 2012-13) in China, the Chennai Photo Biennale (India), S.M.A.K. (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst) and Art Cinema OFFoff (Ghent, Belgium), and nationally at such venues as Socrates Sculpture Park, SPRING/BREAK Art Show, Petzel Gallery, Smack Mellon, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, and The Andy Warhol Museum (Pennsylvania).

HUNY

sarah huny young, the 2021 guest curator for TQ Live!, is a DJ, photographer, event producer, and king of all trades soundtracking and producing events via the Mostbeautifullest collective. Bred in NYC and currently residing in Pittsburgh, her work in music, photography, and visual art is rooted in exalting Black women & LGBTQ+ communities. Currently huny is a 2021 Sibyls Shrine resident artist and a “Marking this Moment: Pittsburgh Artists in 2020” Fellow via Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, ESPN, Pittsburgh City Paper, New York Magazine, The Verge, and more.

SAMIRA MENDOZA

Samira Mendoza is an interdisciplinary performance artist, DJ, curator, and educator currently residing in Pittsburgh, PA.

PISSY MATTRESS

Western PA queer performer Pissy Mattress insists that she contains multitudes. Years ago, the oft-bearded, ever-mustached Pissandra Jo could be found crooning the side of an Atloona, PA jukebox, adorned in tattered leather and begging for a ride out of town. Much of her whereabouts from way-back-when to her 2018 emergence onto the Pittsburgh queer scene are unknown. There are rumors of a failed marriage and short-lived step-motherhood in Toledo. Others swear they’ve spotted her as an extra on Cheers, but that can’t be right. Regardless of where she has been- she is here right now. While on stage she finds herself urged to create an atmosphere that mimics the inclusion and oddity found in small pockets of Pittsburgh nightlife. She looks to you, gives a knowing wink through a haze of cigarette smoke, and saunters into the spotlight. A towering 6’5” with tiger eyes, she intends not to leave a mark in this world, but to leave a stain.

REMY BLACK

Remy Black is a radical Black trans woman whose performance work seeks to highlight Black excellence throughout the ages while providing a contemporary lense through centering her own queerness. Her work as a drag performer has been featured in the HBO documentary “Wig” and her daring numbers, which can involve full nudity and live singing have captivated audiences throughout the country. Remy is also an accomplished storyteller and social critic whose think pieces and sordid tales are often circulated in queer social groups. Remy considers herself to be a champion and advocate for the advancement of Black trans livelihoods and views every performance as an opportunity to demonstrate the power and beauty of the Black trans experience.

THE CHILDLIKE EMPRESS

The Childlike Empress is a Black and Indigenous, queer and genderfluid multifaceted artist and sex worker creating dynamic work focusing on mental health, sexuality, eroticism, fluidity and healing from trauma. They grew up in NYC, but currently reside in Pittsburgh where they have been working on their music, visual art and many other creative projects.

DUANE BINION

Duane Binion is the Co-Creator of True T Pittsburgh (PGH), a Pittsburgh-based 501-c3 organization that serves the LGBTQIA+ Community of Color through Creative Art & Entertainment, Social Activism, and meaningful Resource Sharing. He is a social change-maker, producer of art, and community leader working to build social awareness for LGBT+ POC and community members of the iconic underground Ballroom scene for over 10+ years. Duane has a passion for creating platforms that aid in dismantling the negative stereotypes and portrayals of black and brown queer people. In 2019 he was awarded his first Advancing Black Arts grant by the Pittsburgh Heinz Foundation to create a new project highlighting the rich creativity of the underground ballroom scene.

LUNA PLEXUS

Luna Plexus is a multi-genre performer, enrapturing audiences with their modern and soulful performances. Inspired by the early intimate shows of legends such as Nina Simone, Luna Plexus draws from a wealth of backgrounds to enthrall with powerful elegance through passionate burlesque and pole routines. Luna Plexus has been highlighted in Rachel Rampleman’s “Drag is Life” series, and has performed locally with The Body Shop.

CALEB THOMAS GONZALES

Caleb Thomas Gonzales is a Mexican American queer creative currently attending Point Park University as a 4th year dance major. Southern California is where he was born and raised, and where he began his dance studies in hip hop during junior high. He has since then expanded his studies over the years in almost all styles of dance (Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, Latin, Pole, Heels, & Vogue.) You can follow his journey on instagram @calebthomas.

ENSILENCE

Ensilence, hailing from New Castle, PA, is a multilayered musical artist influenced by heavy poetics and dirty rhythms. Her style and cadence is like a sweet breeze in summer heat. Channelling the great spirits of the music world such as Nas, Black Thought, Miles Davis, Parliament, OutKast and many more, Ensilence is an up-and-coming powerhouse within her own right.

Scott Andrew is a multimedia queer-oriented video, installation, and performance artist. He creates speculative fantasies that peer into otherworldly portals and voids. He has exhibited at MoMA’s PopRally Performance Series (NYC), Ballroom Marfa (Marfa, TX), the Hammer Museum (LA), and the J. Paul Getty Museum (LA), among others. Recently, Andrew has worked as a media designer and producer for collaborative stage performances with dance artist Jesse Factor, and dragademic Veronica Bleaus. Scott is a visiting lecturer in the Studio Arts department at the University of Pittsburgh and is an adjunct professor in the School of Art at CMU.

JOSEPH HALL

Joseph Hall is a black, queer, transracial adoptee, podcast lover, creator, critic, and youngest of five. He is The Executive Director of the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, and was previously Deputy Director at BAAD! Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance as well as a producer, curator, and performer working in NYC and Pittsburgh. As a performer, Joseph has worked with choreographers Staycee Pearl, Maree ReMalia, Lida Winfield, and Jasmine Hearn, video artist Suzie Silver.

SUZIE SILVER

Suzie Silver creates art that alludes to the capacity for desire to disrupt social boundaries and imagine new futures. Her well-known early videos, Freebird and A Spy are canonical works of queer video art. Her videos have screened at over one hundred festivals on five continents. Her ongoing collaboration, “Fairy Fantastic!” a fairy and folk tale video series for gender non-conforming kids of all ages, has screened at festivals in Belarus, London, Portugal, Romania and Australia. www.suziesilver.com

SARAH HUNY YOUNG

sarah huny young, the 2021 guest curator for TQ Live!, is a DJ, photographer, event producer, and king of all trades soundtracking and producing events via the Mostbeautifullest collective. Bred in NYC and currently residing in Pittsburgh, her work in music, photography, and visual art is rooted in exalting Black women & LGBTQ+ communities. Currently huny is a 2021 Sibyls Shrine resident artist and a “Marking this Moment: Pittsburgh Artists in 2020” Fellow via Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, ESPN, Pittsburgh City Paper, New York Magazine, The Verge, and more.