Legendary Looks: The Art of Effects Design in House Ballroom

Legendary Cameo Cameo at Coldest Winter Ever Ball 2022, credit Alan Mozes Photography

On View: May 31 – Aug. 17, 2025
Opening Reception: June 1, 2025, 6-8pm

ArtsWestchester Gallery
31 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, NY

Delve into the extraordinary tradition and artistry of effects design in the Black and Latine/x LGBTQ+ House Ballroom Community. This landmark multi-media exhibition features 17 unforgettable looks created by some of ballroom’s top designers, stylists and walkers, including Icon Overall Mother DeeDee Lanvin, Icon Founding Mother Miss Shalae Basquiat, Legendary Cameo Cameo, Legendary Giovanni, and DMV Father Drake Garçon. Exhibited costumes are accompanied by illustrations, video, and dozens of photographs that highlight the creative process and inspiration behind each ballroom moment.

The exhibition is curated by Icon International Mother Twiggy Pucci Garçon, Legendary NYC Mother Jonovia Chase Lanvin, and Icon Ballroom Hall of Famer Founder Michael Roberson Maison-Margiela. Exhibition text is written by Fatima Jamal and Mikelle Street.

The Arts of Effects Design in House Ballroom is one of a three-part exhibition series, co-organized by ArtsWestchester, City Lore and Pioneer Works, which focuses on the cultural legacy of House Ballroom. See below for more information about exhibitions and programming at partner sites.

  • Legendary Looks: My Ballroom Story (June 6-August 10 at Pioneer Works) Featuring a multimedia installation by Felix Rodriguez, a filmmaker who has documented the ballroom scene since 1991.
  • Legendary Looks: Preserving Our Legacy (July 25-Sept 4 at City Lore) Featuring a multimedia exhibition that includes ball flyers, archival photos, costuming, as well as audio excerpts from oral history interviews collected by the curators.

About the Curators

Icon International Mother
Twiggy Pucci Garçon

Icon International Mother Twiggy Pucci Garçon is a community organizer, director, producer, culture curator, and performance artist. She worked to develop and implement organizational programs and movement-wide strategy at True Colors United for nearly a decade, protecting rights for young people experiencing homelessness. She has collaborated with Gucci, Coach, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, GLAAD, Adidas, Reebok, and many other brands, artists, filmmakers, academics and policymakers to increase visibility of both creative and sociopolitical agendas. Twiggy is the International Mother of the Legendary International House of Comme des Garçons, the Chief Ambassador for the Center for Black Equity, and Co-Founder of All Tea, No Shade Productions alongside New York Times Bestselling author George M. Johnson. Twiggy was a featured subject in HBO’s THE OUT LIST (2013), was the co-writer and subject of Sara Jordenö’s award-winning documentary KIKI (Sundance 2016), and served as consultant and runway choreographer on Ryan Murphy’s Emmy-nominated FX series, POSE, and a consultant on The Equalizer. Twiggy is the Executive Producer of the Emmy-nominated dramatic reading, All Boys Aren’t Blue (Amazon Prime), and Director of MnM, an award-winning short documentary film slated for broadcast on POV/PBS this summer. Twiggy is 2023 Concordia Fellow, where she is developing her first feature-length documentary, CROWNED. 

Legendary NYC Mother
Jonovia Chase Lanvin

Legendary NYC Mother Jonovia Chase of Xclusive Lanvin is a vibrant community stakeholder, producer, runway icon, and creative force based in New York City. She represents House Lives Matter, an international initiative created by and for the House community, and actively leads and collaborates with various organizations and community stakeholders on events and initiatives focused on intersectional social justice and activism. Together with other committed community leaders, she co-founded the non-profit Venus Pellagatti Xtravaganza House, aimed at providing housing, healthcare, and educational support for the trans and LGBTQ community in New Jersey, in partnership with Garden State Equality, Hudson Pride, and House Lives Matter. Jonovia proudly serves as the NYC Mother of the Legendary House of Xclusive Lanvin and works as a consultant for Arts Westchester, New York University, and the NYC Kiki Coalition. She is also a member of the landmark committee for Venus Pellagatti Xtravaganza and a consultant at the Hetrick Martin Institute. Her expertise extends to several ballroom-focused films, docudramas, and photo documentary projects, including her role as the Ballroom Coordinator and supporting cast member “Kiki Pendavis” on Ryan Murphy’s hit series, Pose. Additionally, she served as an executive producer for the documentary “I’m Your Venus,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival 2024 and was premiered globally at the London International Film Festival. Furthermore, Jonovia is the curator of the Fem Queen Honors, taking place this June at the Apollo Theater, celebrating the contributions of Black and Latinx women in the Ballroom Community.

Icon Ballroom Hall of Famer Founder
Michael Roberson Maison-Margiela

Icon Ballroom Hall of Famer Founder Michael Roberson Maison-Margiela is a leader, public health practitioner, activist, artist, and curator within the HBC and is one of the most important figures in Ballroom today. He is the founder of three major Houses and is Father to hundreds of children in the community. Roberson works as Adjunct Professor at The New School and Union Theological Seminary, where he teaches courses on Ballroom history and Vogue’ology, a pedagogy that places Ballroom’s performance traditions within a politics of emancipation. He is also founder of The Federation of Ballroom Houses and co-creator of the National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Group, an organization focused on tackling health disparities within Black/Latino LGBTQ+ and HBC communities. Michael is the Senior Scholar in residence for the Center for Race, Religion, and Economic Democracy, as well as a 2019 TED Media Resident, where he performed a global TED talk about the underground Black/Latinx House/ball ballroom community, entitled “The enduring legacy of ballroom.” For Black History Month 2021, Michael co-authored an article in Time Magazine titled “Why Voguing and the Ballroom Scene Matter Now More than Ever.” Michael also served as a cultural consultant for the Pose FX television show. For two years, Michael was a public health advisor and community engagement specialist for the NYC COVID-19 contract tracing initiative. Michael is both the Series Editor of the online international publication “Arts Everywhere Ballroom Freedom School” section as well as the ITP Director of the Invoking the Pause Climate Challenge National Cohort for the San Francisco based Clean Energy Leadership Institute. And lastly, Michael serves as a Cultural Ambassador for City Lore’s Creative Traditions Residency Program by means of engaging in ethnographic research, audio-visual documentation, and program planning focused on the NYC Metro area’s House Ballroom community, artists, and events.

Our Supporters

Major support for Legendary Looks: The Art of Effects Design in House Ballroom is provided by the Coby Foundation, Ltd

The exhibition is also supported in part by the Mid Atlantic Folk and Traditional Arts – Community Projects program of Mid Atlantic Arts.