City Lore To Launch LEGENDARY LOOKS: PRESERVING OUR LEGACY Exhibition This July
Part of a three-part exhibition series celebrating the legacy of House Ballroom culture.
By: A.A. Cristi Jul. 18, 2025
City Lore, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, will launch Legendary Looks: Preserving Our Legacy—a multimedia exhibition honoring the cultural legacy of the House Ballroom community—on view from July 25 through September 4, 2025, at the City Lore Gallery (56 East First Street, Manhattan). The opening reception will take place on Friday, July 25, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Part of City Lore’s 40th anniversary programming, Legendary Looks: Preserving Our Legacy is co-curated by Icon Ballroom Hall of Famer Founder Michael Roberson (Maison-Margiela), Legendary NYC Mother Jonovia Chase (Xclusive Lanvin), and Icon International Mother Twiggy Pucci Garçon. Together, the curators have conducted extensive ethnographic research and community engagement through City Lore’s Creative Traditions Residency Program to uplift the history and artistry of Ballroom culture in the New York City metro area.
The exhibition will spotlight pioneering figures including Pioneer RR Chanel, Pioneer Alvernian Du'Mure-Versailles, and Legendary NYC Father Joejo St. Laurent, showcasing their work to preserve House Ballroom heritage. Featured materials include ball flyers, archival photographs, costuming, and excerpts from oral history interviews. Visitors will gain insight into a vibrant, working-class Black, Latinx, queer, and trans cultural formation that emerged from the Harlem drag ball scene and thrives today through ritual competition in Houses.
City Lore’s exhibition is one of three in the Legendary Looks series, alongside:
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Legendary Looks: The Art of Effects Design in House Ballroom at ArtsWestchester (May 31–July 20)
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Legendary Looks: My Ballroom Story at Pioneer Works (June 6–August 10)
The full series showcases over sixteen iconic Ballroom looks, with contributions from acclaimed artists including Icon Overall Mother DeeDee Lanvin, Miss Shalae Basquiat, Legendary Giovanni 007, and DMV Father Drake Garçon. Text for the exhibitions is written by Fatima Jamal and Mikelle Street.
Gallery hours at City Lore are Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., or by appointment at (212) 529-1955 ext. 22. Admission is free.
For more information on the exhibition series and curators, visit:
https://artswestchester.org/programs/gallery/legendary-looks-the-art-of-effects-design-in-house-ballroom
http://www.citylore.org
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