The Brighton Drag Project is a year-long photographic and audio portrait of Brighton’s vibrant drag community and will be the biggest exploration of Brighton’s drag scene ever undertaken.
Working with around 20–25 drag queens, kings and monarchs, photographer Mike Coombes will document the people behind the performances—from the transformation and anticipation of getting ready to backstage moments, live shows and everyday life.
The project will be led by the performers themselves. Each participant will help shape how they are represented, where they are photographed and which aspects of their life and identity they wish to share. Recorded conversations will allow them to speak directly about their experiences in their own words. Rather than arriving with a predetermined story, the project will grow through collaboration, trust and the individual voices of those taking part.
Through these portraits and conversations, the project will explore ideas of gender, identity, femininity and masculinity. It will consider how these qualities can be created, performed, challenged and reimagined—and how drag can reveal the fluid and constructed nature of the identities we all inhabit. The person seen away from the stage will not be presented as more “real” than the performer; both will be treated as authentic and interconnected expressions of the individual.
At a time when drag is more visible than ever in popular culture, performers, trans people and the wider LGBTQ+ community are also facing growing hostility and uncertainty. The project will explore this contrast without imposing a single point of view, creating space for a diverse range of voices, experiences and, at times, conflicting perspectives.
Created with Brighton’s drag community rather than simply about it, the project will celebrate drag as an art form while offering an intimate and thoughtful record of the people, venues and community that make the city’s scene unique. The completed work will be presented through an exhibition, a photographic book and a dedicated website.
Portraits. Stories. Community.