17c起草社区

After a brief hiatus on account of COVID-19, the Drag Industry Variety Awards (DIVA) are back, this Monday, August 21.

Starting at 7pm, the one and only Tomi The Drag Queen, AKA Tomi Grainger, will be live streaming from the DIVA鈥檚 red carpet, for 17c起草社区.

A Time To Celebrate Together

Talking to 17c起草社区, Tomi shared why this event is so important.

鈥淒rag queens work so hard throughout the year, and this is the moment to recognise their contributions,鈥� they said.聽聽

The DIVA Awards are 鈥渁 moment to step back and appreciate the incredible amount of work that drag queens put in, each and every day they step out of the house.聽 Whether that鈥檚 hosting a regular bingo, or putting together a whole production show, the amount of time, effort, and money that goes into that 鈥� I don’t know many other jobs that actually require that amount of commitment on a daily basis.鈥澛�

Tomi also stressed that the awards are a moment to recognise all drag queens, young, old, new, or seasoned.聽

It is a time to 鈥渃elebrate together, and to come together,聽 because the drag community is always working. They’re never able to be together in one room. So I think this is not only a fantastic opportunity. It’s something that we must do every year鈥�The Divas is the biggest, it’s the best, and we’re very lucky to have this in Australia.鈥�

Tomi’s DIVA Moment

Tomi is also in the running for a few DIVA Moments Of The Year.聽

One of these Diva Moments happened a couple of months ago in Los Angeles, California, when they attended a private party for Paris Hilton’s first-ever live concert, dressed as Lady Gaga.

鈥淚 was stopped by the paparazzi and they thought I was Lady Gaga. So I was ushered in as a VIP, I had photos with Catherine Hilton, I met Paris Hilton, Kim Petrus鈥�- They all thought I was Lady Gaga because I just happened to dress a bit like her that night. I thought that was a really big diva moment.鈥�

‘Raw And Authentic’

Tomi鈥檚 red carpet live stream strategy is pretty simple: to have fun.

鈥淢y strategy is to have fun. I know all the queens really well, I think it’s to let them have a chance to share their insights, to talk about their journey over the last couple of years 鈥� it鈥檚 been a rough couple of years for the drag industry, obviously, with lockdowns and everything and we’re kind of emerging out of that.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 about being a soundboard for those queens and being really raw and authentic with them.鈥澛�

30th Anniversary Of DIVA

First held in 1991 at DCM nightclub, DIVA Awards were created as a way to showcase and celebrate Sydney’s amazing drag queens, and their work, as well as celebrate the amazing people that make up the drag entertainment industry.

This year marks its 30th anniversary.

The DIVA Anniversary, hosted by Carmen Geddit, will be held at the Paddo RSL showroom on Monday, August 21, 2023.聽聽聽