Patrick’s Cabaret presents "The Cultural Wars Cabaret"

In 1994, queer performance artist Ron Athey performed "Four Scenes in a Harsh Life," under the aegis of the Walker Art Center, at the then-underground performance venue Patrick's Cabaret. Athey's infamous performance, which involved ritual incision, sparked a national debate around art and censorship, ultimately leading to the slashing of the National Endowment for the Arts budget, the near-complete elimination of grants to individual artists, and a powerful chilling effect on controversial artwork. Twenty-one years later, almost to the day, how does this controversy reverberate in our local and national cultural landscape? Co-curated and hosted by Eleanor Savage and Scott Artley FEATURING: Jaime Carrera Venus DeMars Sweet LilyBee Junauda Petrus Lazer Danger Elliot Reed (Corporate Headquarters) Interactive installation by Emmett Ramstad