Mickalene Thomas, Jet Blue #25, 2021. Rhinestones, acrylic, chalk pastel, mixed media paper, and archival pigment prints on museum paper mounted on Dibond with mahogany and silver leaf frame, 88¼ x 65⅛ x 2 inches (224.2 x 165.4 x 5.1 cm) © Mickalene Thomas / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Drawing on the DIVA exhibition’s exploration of popular music, fashion, film, activism, gender fluidity, celebrity, and cultural power, this presentation with Dr. Reiland Rabaka reframes the diva not as a stereotype of excess or ego, but as a complex cultural figure whose voice, image, artistry, and public presence have transformed modern understandings of gender, sexuality, race, power, and performance. From global icons such as Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, and Aretha Franklin to Whitney Houston, Madonna, and Beyoncé, the lecture traces a rich herstory of women and gender-expansive artists who challenged social conventions while redefining artistic excellence. It also highlights boundary-breaking figures such as Elton John, Grace Jones, Prince, RuPaul, and Janelle Monáe, whose work expanded the very meaning of divahood.
Moving across generations and genres, the presentation argues that the diva is one of modern culture’s most enduring symbols of creative freedom, self-fashioning, resilience, and social transformation. Inspired by the exhibition’s thematic journey through fashion, performance, activism, reinvention, and legacy, it reveals how divas have not merely reflected history but have helped make it.
| Venue: | Denver Art Museum |
| Starts: | November 14, 2026 |
| Ends: | November 14, 2026 |
DENVER, Colorado
80204 US
80204 US
Cost: $20
