ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

AWARD RECIPIENT

Drag & Draw

Drag & Draw is an award-winning life drawing series established by Adrian Colwell and Ailbhe O’Connor in 2017 that has been described as “a fantastic and wholly inclusive entertainment show that allows participants to fully engage with the entertainer and the art”. Since its inception, Drag & Draw has hosted regular drawing sessions where patrons are invited to try their hand at life drawing, taking inspiration from the stunning drag models that give the event its name. One of those models, Dublin’s own Vicky Volltz, joined Colwell and O’Connor on the GALAS stage to accept this year’s Arts & Entertainment award.

Accepting the accolade, Drag & Draw co-founder Colwell said: “This is amazing. We’ve been doing Drag & Draw for six years or so, with such great experiences and opportunities across Ireland and recently the UK. We’ve tried to make it as inclusive and accessible as possible.” Colwell went on to extend thanks to his co-founder, as well as to the “gorgeous drag models” who offer their stunning services to Drag & Draw on a regular basis. Colwell similarly thanked Street 66 bar for hosting their organisation’s events.

“We’ve created this small little arts community and the artworks are great but they pale in comparison to the friendships, connections, and relationships that we’ve made along the way,” Colwell concluded.

NOMINEES

Delishus O’Toole

Delishus O’Toole is an award-winning drag artist. In addition to a successful singing career, O’Toole similarly boasts the largest drag-centred YouTube channel in Ireland, with more than 19,000 subscribers. O’Toole has garnered a huge amount of support in recent years, credited with cracking “through the glass ceiling for music” and paving “the way for many LGBTQ+ artists in drag”.

Nazlı Yıldırım

Born in Ankara, Turkey, Nazlı Yıldırım is a queer visual artist whose passion for storytelling began during her tenure at the Istanbul University Faculty of Letters. The artist would go on to work in publishing spheres across Greece, Belgium, and Turkey before turning to a career in visual arts. Yıldırım’s most recent exhibition Until The Earth Becomes The Face Of Love -Love Will Change The Earth was featured at the People’s Museum of Limerick earlier this summer, with Yıldırım describing the exhibition as an exploration of “gender, cultural identity, storytelling, discrimination, and the experiences of LGBTI+ communities”.

Rory Cashin

Rory Cashin is an award-winning entertainment and culture journalist who has contributed to a number of Irish outlets, including Newstalk, The Tom Dunne Show, iRadio, and more. In addition to being a great ambassador for the bi community, Cashin has long been one of Ireland’s leading film and television critics.

By Ethan Moser