Rachel Rampleman’s solo exhibition Life is Drag celebrates drag in all its forms–from the spectrum of gender expression to experimental art and activism. At a moment when drag and the queer community are increasingly under attack, Life is Drag becomes more than a documentation: it is a collective act of celebration and defiance, showcasing irrepressible performers who challenge convention, rewrite the rules and embody the range of gender expression.
Life is Drag serves as the largest digital archive of drag performance in the United States. Launched in 2019, Rachel has documented over 380 performances by more than 200 drag artists. At SoMad, Rachel has been the inaugural Production Artist in Residence, continuing her project in collaboration with our community of artists, producers and performers. Featuring 24 never-before-seen video portraits and interviews by visionary performers who embody the height of experimental and neo-burlesque drag, this exhibition presents the work in high definition with the opportunity for full immersion.
At SoMad, Rampleman’s video portraits will be presented on individual screens and projections within a black box space alongside a video of selected interview excerpts of her subjects responding to the question “What does drag mean to you?” In this collective chorus, viewers are not only invited to witness the transformative power of drag, but also to recognize its resonance within themselves—as a reflection of joy, truth, and limitless potential. Viewed as a whole, Life is Drag is a collaborative, living archive of queer expression, resistance, and artistry.
More on Rampleman's Practice
With a background in experimental video and documentary, Rampleman approaches drag as a total work of art: a poetic synthesis of performance, costume, sculpture, sound, and identity, and captures numbers by each performer in veritable, full-body high definition videos framed consistently each time and showcased with minimal, if any, editing. Every performer engages in a structured interview, captured in full-look—hair, makeup, costume, attitude, exemplifying the height of their stage persona while offering deeply personal reflections on their craft, community, and lived experience. For some, drag is political; for others, it’s not. While some say drag is about gender; others say drag transcends gender. In the end, one truth emerges: life is drag.
