COMMUNITY, SALEM EVENTS

Salem drag community celebrates art, history at new exhibit

RiRi Calienté, one of Salem’s most iconic drag performers, had been saving Judy Garland’s 1961 rendition of “Over the Rainbow” live at Carnegie Hall for a special occasion.

That occasion came on July 5, at the opening reception of “The Art of Drag” in the Salem Art Association’s gallery. Calienté, the lead consultant on the exhibition, performed a lip-sync to the song in front of a full house which included Governor Tina Kotek and her wife.

“I held onto it for years, because for me it’s synonymous with my journey into drag. As a queer kid, Judy Garland was the quintessential role model,” Calienté said. “The message in the song itself: dreams are possible. And that was very surreal to be able to do that in that space, in front of so many. So that was a very huge moment, and a tearful moment. Good tears, happy tears.”

The exhibit, showing at the gallery through Aug. 25, includes glittery dresses, portrait photography, testimonials, information on queer history and more. It will have several free accompanying live performances this summer.

All of the pieces on display, from crowns lovingly placed in cases to makeup staged on a vanity to carefully teased wigs, are on loan from community members. About 30 people shared stories, history or objects for the exhibit, according to curator Jessica Rehfield-Griffith.

Calienté, along with Rehfield-Griffith, began meeting and collecting pieces for the exhibition last May. He said opening night felt like sending a beloved child off to school and into the world. 

“I honestly am just so moved by the experience overall, and that I got to be part of something so monumental for our community, especially the queer community,” he said. “I just hope people get a chance to come see it and share the joy that drag has to offer.”


About the Exhibit

“The Art of Drag” exhibit celebrates the Willamette Valley drag community, and will show at the Salem Art Association through Aug. 25. The gallery is located at 600 Mission St. S.E.

The exhibit can be visited for free from noon to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, and will have accompanying live events. There will be a Drag Art Soirée on Friday, July 12, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. There will be free drag performances and Q&As on July 26, August 9 and August 23. RSVP online.

The exhibit’s welcoming statement, written by Rehfield-Griffith and Calienté, said that  performers find self-empowerment through flipping gender norms on their head.

Drag is “a place to reflect on a world that queer people love which doesn’t always love them back,” the statement said.

The exhibit itself is a celebration in response to hatred.

In 2022, as the Salem Art Association’s September artist in residence, Rehfield-Griffith sewed a massive pride flag using a dozen different flags representing different parts of their and their wife’s identities. Their work was met with hateful comments online, to staff and in the written guestbook.

The pushback came amid a national rise in reported hate crimes and bullying of LGBTQ people, particularly young people, as dozens of states have sought to ban or restrict gender-affirming health care for youth. Locally, Salem-Keizer School District data this year found fewer than 15% of non-binary students felt they belonged at school.

In response, the Salem Art Association doubled down on its queer programming. Director Matthew Boulay hired Rehfield-Griffith to curate a queer artists’ lecture series called “Queer Love,” which held an exhibition in February. He also asked if they’d be interested in putting together an exhibition showcasing drag culture in the Willamette Valley.

“I think it’s the power and the purpose of art,” Boulay said. “Contemporary art in particular, but art over the centuries, is about confronting injustice, it’s about creating things that are beautiful, it’s about having conversations, fostering community, it’s all of those things.”

RiRi Calienté at the opening for “The Art of Drag” at the Salem Art Association on July 5, 2024. (Courtesy/ Mathieu Voisine)

Boulay said that, despite negative comments, the programming has also been really popular and he’s heard good feedback from visitors and longtime members alike. 

While the new exhibit gives introductory-level information about drag culture, Rehfield-Griffith had a particular audience in mind when curating it: the queer community. 

For them, the most moving part of the work was hearing the stories from four local drag performers for written testimony displayed on the walls of the gallery. Among them is Calienté who lost his childhood best friend to HIV. 

“On his deathbed he made me promise to pursue Drag because he swore I was ‘born to do it,’” he wrote. “And for a legally blind, Mexican American, queer boy from a tiny town, drag means freedom, freedom to be me in every way possible and hopefully give someone that same level of freedom one day, one lash at a time!”

Rehfield-Griffith said that most who contributed had faced oppression in their lives.

“They feel that drag is an outlet that allowed them to embrace who they are and to be seen for who they are,” they said.

Another important component to Rehfield-Griffith is the local, national and international history of drag as an art form. Before curating the exhibit, they hadn’t been aware of the breadth of community projects supported by the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Willamette Empire, which is under the umbrella of an international drag community.

The local group, since the late 1970s, has raised money for local charities through drag shows and events, including Salem Rainbow Youth, various HIV/AIDS organizations and Meals on Wheels.

Calienté, whose legal name is Richard Arias Jr., said that a lot of people don’t know Salem’s drag community exists, or the impact it has on improving people’s lives.

“What makes it distinct is that the drag community is so small, but it’s a very powerful drag community,” he said.

“Now more than ever this is the perfect time to shine a light on how healing and powerful the art of drag can be.”

The drag performers posed for portraits with photographer Joy Reyneke at Southside Speakeasy to make the poster for “The Art of Drag.” (Abbey McDonald/ Salem Reporter)
Attendees at the Salem Art Association’s “Art of Drag” opening, including Gov. Tina Kotek, watch a drag performance (Courtesy/ Salem Art Association)

Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251

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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.