Wanna see something really cool? Head over to the McKenna Museum of African American Art at 2003 Carondelet Street on Saturday at 6 PM. The opening reception of “Queens Rule!” is scheduled to run until 8 PM. A special performance is planned at some point in the evening.
“Queens Rule!” is a collection of photographs of Mardi Gras Indian queens including vintage photos and posed studio portraits as well as other elements of the uniquely New Orleans cultural groups including elaborate beadwork and costumes.
The exhibit is part of an ongoing project to document the work of the Mardi Gras Indians. Previous efforts have included two yearbooks, which have featured profiles and photographs of spy boys and flag boys—two of the many positions in the ritual hierarchy of the Mardi Gras Indian that also includes queens and big chiefs.
The performance, dubbed “Theater of Place,” will feature Tribal Queen Littdell Banister, one of the oldest active Mardi Gras Indian queens; Big Queen Laurita Dollis (pictured above), the wife of legendary Big Chief Bo Dollis; and Maroon Queen Cherice Harrison-Nelson (pictured at top), the daughter of legendary Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sr. and Herrest Harrison, the acclaimed curator of the exhibit.
