When Dream Dommu and Paul Leopold of The Culture Whore approached me asking if Posture would be interested in a special Pride collaborative editorial I was so excited. We’ve worked together in the past when Posture produced a video last summer promoting their party called OASIS, but it has been far too long since we worked on a creative project. Especially during this difficult time when we need to come together more then ever, I was so happy to have been able to combine forces to put more queer magic out in the world. We’re not going anywhere. If anything, it’s about to get a lot queerer.
For those that are not familiar: The Culture Whore “is a community of artists exploring queerness in all its forms by creating ephemeral spaces and permanent platforms that cultivate connectivity, inclusivity, free expression, and pleasure.” [They are] a concept driven event production company specializing in DIY Brooklyn warehouse parties that feature an eclectic mix of DJs, performers and installations curated around ever evolving themes that seek to generate artistic responses from all who engage. In addition to events, they also promote the intersection between art and nightlife in NYC’s queer world with their weekly newsletter THE WEEK and are often hosts at parties such as Holy Mountain, Shade, The Bunker, and Spank.
One night before Posture’s Pride party, The Culture Whore is hosting The Dragon Ball featuring live performances by the likes of BoyWolf (Paul himself), Charlene, House of Ninja, and many more as well as a slew of amazing hosts including Hamm Samwich, Dusty Shoulders, Oddly Enough, Rify Royalty, and Slater G. String.
This editorial features hosts from both of our Pride events. The Dragon Ball Facebook event opens with the poem below which we used as inspiration:
a great eye opens, flashing gold
a tail uncoils, whip sharp
belly full of flames, a furnace ever stoked
FIRE AND BLOOD
the beast is Proud
the beast is awake
the beasts are waiting on the edges of what is real, what can be believed
lurking in the shadows, slinking through your dreams
great claws ready to rip you apart
the night is DARK and full of TERRORS but the FIRE burns them all away
are you ready for the ball? will your fairy godmother get you an Uber?
or will you ride dragonback, soaring over the city?
we are fire made flesh
WHERE ARE OUR DRAGONS
→ The Dragon Ball will take place on Friday, June 24th, from 11pm – 7am. Tickets available here.
→ Posture Pride will take place on Saturday, June 25th, from 6pm-midnight on the rooftop of Wythe Hotel. This event is FREE but donations will be accepted to aid those in need in the wake of the Orlando massacre. RSVP here.
CREDIT: Major thank you to the talented photographer and videographer M. Sharkey who is a critical member and collaborator of the Posture team. And thank you to Keli Lucas for styling myself and Lynn Hutchins on point.
DREAM DOMMU OF THE CULTURE WHORE
PAUL LEOPOLD OF THE CULTURE WHORE
WINTER, FOUNDING EDITOR OF POSTURE
SHANE O’NEILL
LYNN HUTCHINS
SLATER G. STRING
JACK JACKSON
RIFY ROYALTY
CHENO
DUSTY
PARADISE
KYLE ROGERS
KELI LUCAS
PHIL GOMEZ
ORLANDO ESTRADA
THE DRAGON BALL
POSTURE PRIDE
