How great thou Art

Art Simone has been described as the drag equivalent of Shannon Noll.

“I always get nominated for things, but I always come runner up!” she laughs.

I caught up with Art on the Food Bytes podcast, post ACRAs – where the self-professed down-under drag diva was nominated for Podcast of the Year and Podcast Host of the Year.

You could say that navigating the ACRAs pink carpet was a walk in the park for the host of Concealed with Art Simone.

Art’s larger-than-life personality bursts forth as she exclaims “It was glamorous! I felt very stunning.”

In fact, that’s just how Art describes herself, full stop:

“I’m a stunning, talented, beautiful drag artist.”

And she’s been strutting her stuff for nearly 14 years.

Many of us would remember Art as a contestant on the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, but she was winning titles and working with some of the world’s biggest brands well before then.

“I live, breathe and eat drag,” Art says. “It’s taken me to lots of wonderful places around the world, onto screens – into people’s ears.”

Growing up in Melbourne, Art discovered a love of make-up and the art of transformation during high school.

“Like a lot of teens at the time, I wasn’t happy with who I was. I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. I was also finding out that I was queer and didn’t really know where I was meant to be.”

Drag became a form of escapism – a chance to become someone else, even if just for a moment.

Making sure that drag gets to regional Australia is Art’s life mission.

“Being out in regional parts of the country is so isolating, especially for queer people.”

“By bringing drag events out there, it creates safe spaces for people like that, where they can not only be themselves, but also network and meet other like-minded people.”

Art has just started recording season 3 of Concealed with Art Simone.

The podcast sees Art put into a room with a total stranger.

“I get to ask them three questions. From the answers to those three questions, I have to work out what they’re concealing from me. It’s usually a really interesting skill, hobby, job or something that’s happened to them.”

“Once we do the big reveal, we then chat to them about what makes them special.”

Guests so far have included the original voice of Big Brother, a Hollywood stunt double and a crime scene cleaner, to name just a few.

“It’s been really great to create this kind of platform and safe space to celebrate people for their differences,” says Art.

And there’s a common element of the podcast that brings everyone together.

“As I’ve been a drag queen, I’m often judged or people put me in a box. It can feel not the nicest.”

“The same thing happens to these people, because they’re a little bit left of centre. They’re a little bit wacky. So I like to bring them into this space so we can celebrate them for what makes them unique and cool.”

Whilst we’ve come a long way in terms of acceptance and inclusion, Art says people continue to face adversity just for being themselves.

Art says she treats everyone with kindness, and likes to lead by example.

“I often liken my drag to my superhero armour. There’s kind of a barrier between me and what I’m facing.”

“Drag gives me the strength to deal with difficult situations. You need to have a really tough skin.”

“And if you’re going to have a tough skin, it might as well be sparkly and glamorous!”

 *Art’s new book Life is Art: A Drag Queen’s Guide to Living a Technicolour Life is due for release in February.

*Main photo supplied

*ACRAs photos: Instagram