Life in the spotlight as a drag performer isn’t always glitter, wigs and heels. Having performed sold out shows, starred in national advertising campaigns and been on the cast of the first season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race Down Under, Art Simone felt like it was the right time to reflect on her career. The resulting book Life is Art gives fans a glimpse into the day-to-day life of the drag superstar beyond her perfectly painted face.
“It’s something I began working on through Covid (lockdown) when we all had a bit of extra time on our hands,” she says. “I was looking at my career and thinking, ‘What have I learned? Who do I want to be? What do I want to say about myself?’ and I started to jot things down. The book documents the last decade of my career and my fabulous drag looks and makeup designs and also ties that in with stories and adventures, what I’ve learned and what people can apply to their own lives.”
Simone says that some of the most unexpected reactions have come from parents of queer children who’ve found comfort in the words and images as they attempt to understand their child’s identity.
“While my expertise is drag, the main thing is giving you tips and tricks and knowledge I have picked up on my way. They are things people can apply to any type of person,” she says.
“I have had some parents reach out to me who have read it saying it’s a wonderful insight into the queer community because I talk about my family and my mum and what she did well and what she didn’t do well and how she helped me or hindered me. I really hope it normalises the lives of queer people to those outside our community and it gives an insight to what we get up to and the lives we lead and it demystifies things. At the core of it, it shows that I am just a regular person like anybody else.”
Simone hopes her book will also inspire a love of drag for generations to come.
“We have decades of drag artists (in Australia) who are absolutely exceptional and many of them are still working today,” she says. “You would be in awe of their skill sets, their talents and their personalities in all different sectors whether it’s cabaret, the fashion world or your local clubs, bars and venues. Drag is everywhere and it’s ingrained into our culture in Australia.”
