Special Collections Division Seeks Stories from Drag Community

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The University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collections Division is seeking participants for the Arkansas Drag Community Oral History Project. The project aims to capture the unique past and present experiences with drag performance in the state of Arkansas and provide an ongoing repository for interviews and materials. 

Drag community members of all kinds - from performers to costume designers, venue owners to audience members - are welcome to express interest in the project by filling out a brief form.

The project falls under the scope of work outlined in Special Collections' mission while simultaneously challenging understandings of who is included and can participate in “folklife.”

Conceptualized and spearheaded by Deena R. Owens, administrative assistant for Special Collections, the oral histories will project the voices of Arkansas’ unique and historic LGBTQIA+ communities.\

“We want all of the stories—everything from the Discovery Club, Ron’s Place, Tangerine, Kinkead’s, a dorm room or anywhere else drag has been performed,” Owens said. “The nitty gritty personal tales and remembrances. It’s an important part of our state’s history that is being lost to time.”

About the University Libraries: Located in the heart of campus, the David W. Mullins Library is the university’s main research library. Branch libraries include the Chemistry and Biochemistry Library, the Fine Arts Library, the Physics Library and the Robert A. and Vivian Young Law Library. The Libraries provide access to more than 3.1 million volumes and more than 180,000 journals and offer research assistance, study spaces, computer labs with printing and scanning, interlibrary loan and delivery services and cultural exhibits and events. The Libraries’ Special Collections Division acquires, preserves and provides access to materials on Arkansas and the region, its customs and people, and its cultural, physical and political climate. Visit the Libraries’ website at libraries.uark.edu to learn more about services and collections.  

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3% of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.