What are you carrying around these days – keys, phone, cash, driver’s license, along with a few grudges and a stash of hopes and dreams?
Bags and baggage, functional and figurative, is the theme of a new and irreverent group art exhibit conceived by Key West writer and artist Kevin Assam for The Studios of Key West and featuring the work of a dozen or so local artists and personalities.
The Studios bills “It’s in the Bag!” as “one of the most fun exhibits this season.”
The show opens with a reception Jan. 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Studios of Key West, 533 Eaton St., and will remain on display in the Zabar Lobby Gallery through Jan. 25.
“Bags are practical,” Assam said. “The shapes are expansive and they can be as utilitarian or decorative as you like. ‘Baggage’ can have a generational interpretation or the recency of last week.”
Like the host of a flamboyant party, he invited a who’s who of local artists to join him by contributing their works and interpretations: John Martini, Sushi, Joanne Klein, B. Lucy Stevens, Melissa Jean McDaniel, Tom Flip, Kristyn LaMoia, David Lawrence Hemingway, Elle Irwin and others.
“The fact that he’s including a bunch of talented artists, who may or may not know each other, in one show is really exciting,” said LaMoia, whose jaw-dropping costume of a deep-sea unicorn for this year’s Fantasy Fest got 7 million views on Instagram. “Kevin is so good at connecting people.”
“Everyone has bags,” Assam said. “Everyone has baggage. The artists have a concept they can relate to. The audience has a theme they can connect with. ‘It’s in the Bag!’ is also a figure of speech that points to completion or success.”
Assam, who arrived in Key West in 2018, doesn’t have a car. He either walks or rides a tricycle around downtown. So he always carries a bag.
“Many people comment on it, which I find so odd,” Assam said. “Where else am I supposed to keep my bleach pen? In my pocket? It could leak. Plus there is my Kindle. I love having dozens of books on hand at any moment. I have read entire volumes sitting at bars, well mostly at Retro Room. People will come up and ask questions. Like I’m a zoo oddity. It’s funny explaining to them that I’m not here for the liquor. I’m here for the literature.”
Erin Stover, artistic director at The Studios, said Assam brings a necessary creative energy to an island already steeped in talent.
“With Kevin, it extends beyond his work,” Stover said. “It’s in his fashion, his persona, his wickedly sharp banter. He just embodies that creative energy at all times.”
QMitch Jones, known by many in Key West as the irrepressible drag queen who hosts bingo every Sunday, also makes purses, which will be included in The Studios show.
“You’ve got your burdens, your money,” Jones said. “We all carry it around and that’s your personality. It’s like luggage, people always carrying that burden. You’ve got some bad luggage.”
With his North Carolina drawl, Jones’ pocketbooks reflect his performances. One is a 4-foot-long stuffed alligator that doubles as a handy bag. His creations also feature seahorses, as well as a purse made from a cigar box.
“I’ll take anything and make a purse out of it, and show up on stage with it,” Jones told the Keys Weekly.
Elle Irwin, a jewelry artist, collects natural materials, then molds, manipulates and incorporates them into metal designs.
“At the bottom of every bag I carry, you can always find a variety of seeds, shells, sticks or stones,” Irwin said. “Other than my wallet, keys and phone, they are the only constant contents. I’m interested in transforming these items stored inside my bag into the bags themselves.”
So bags are practical, Assam noted. “They’re on runways and central to runaways,” he said. “The shapes are expansive and they can be as utilitarian or decorative as you like.”
For Jones, the theme is fun, flashy and introspective, all at once.
“Denial is a good place to live,” Jones said. “You can put a lot of denial in your bag, too, and pull it out when you need it.”
What we hide from the public eye we can always dress up, maybe with some sparkle and color.
Jones said, “At least if you put it in a pocketbook, it looks better than luggage.”
