Founded by artists Elaine Waterman and Steven Frost, Slay the Runway is a fashion design, performance, and sewing community for LGBTQIA+ teens.  Based out of Longmont's Firehouse Art Center and Boulder Public Library's BLDG 61 Maker Space this two-week intensive workshop allows teens to participate in a professionally produced runway show premiering in the ATLAS Institute's B2 Center for Media, Arts, and Performance. In addition to garment construction and design, participants will work with make-up artists, a DJ, and choreographers to present their unique looks and celebrate their identities. This one-night-only event will feature stunning fashion, drag performers, and be hosted by Twirling Tech Goddess LeeLee James. 

Concept & Creators: Elaine Waterman (She/Her) / Steven Frost (They/Them)

Production Design: Steven Frost

Emcee: LeeLee James (She/Her)

Related Press: https://www.colorado.edu/cmcinow/2022/03/28/stitch-strut-slay-runway

Elaine Waterman is the executive director of the Firehouse Art Center, as well as an arts educator and activist. Waterman is also the coordinator for BMoCA’s Studio Project Internship which is being offered in conjunction with the Firehouse Art Center. Her biggest passion is helping young artists develop their artistic voices. Her love of fashion started in her youth and led her to a career as a fashion designer in New York City. She now channels her creative energies into costumes and cosplay.

Steven Frost is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Studies, Faculty Directory of the B2 Center for Media, Arts, and Performance, Vice-Chair of the Boulder Library Commission, and an interdisciplinary artist. Frost's (they/them) research focuses on textiles, queer history, pop culture, and community development in DIY spaces and libraries. In their creative work, they often use textiles—their association with the body and garments evoke tactile memories. Their artworks evoke specific narratives and stories, referencing aspects of their personal and family history, and the history of the LGBTQIA+ people, among other topics. In workshops and interactive performance events, they work to amplify marginalized voices and foster communities to produce their own forms of representation.

LeeLee James is channeling her engineering education, dance training and resourcefulness through queer, femme and Black identities into a wild and wonderful expression of her STEAM art through a YouTube series, "Twirling Tech Goddess." As a computer science major, James's (she/her) vision is to work to provide greater access to technological information, skills and experiences for those who are historically marginalized in order to pave the way for a more equitable future for all. Subscribe to her channel today at meow.wf/ttg.