The Phil Lind Initiative Speaker Series presents Sasha Velour

Sasha Velour, renowned as the winner of the 9th season of RuPaul's Drag Race, brings her unique perspective to the forefront in a captivating talk titled "The Big Reveal: Why Drag Matters." Exploring the intersections of politics and pop culture, Velour will delve into the profound roots of drag, its historical significance in queer culture, and its evolution into a politically-charged art form that delights and disrupts.

 “Drag embodies the queer possibility that exists within each of us,” Velour states, “the infinite ways in which gender, good taste, and art can be lived.”

Her first book, The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag has been heralded as “a rousing tribute to a revolutionary art form and its practitioners” (Publisher’s Weekly). Velour’s first one-queen drag show Smoke & Mirrors was called a “spell-binding tour de force” (Forbes) touring to over 80 cities around the world from 2019-22. Her acclaimed NYC drag show NightGowns was adapted into a docu-series in 2020 and recently completed a sold-out residency at Manhattan’s Le Poisson Rouge. Velour’s star continues to rise with a brand-new stage work created in connection to her book, as well as a role hosting the fourth season of HBO’s Peabody and Emmy-Award winning tv show We’re Here. She was also recently commissioned by the Tony Award-winning Tectonic Theatre Project to star in and co-create a new theatrical work premiering in 2024.