draaag her will be performed at Beats during Boundaries.
Gregor Kulla (2000) is a composer, performance artist, writer, critic and model, who studies composition at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater under Prof. Helena Tulve and Prof. Tõnu Kõrvits. Kulla previously graduated from the Heino Eller Music School majoring in oboe and composition. They have improved themselves in the field of sustainable art creation at the EU School of Participation 2021 in Novi Sad, Serbia, and taken part in master classes with several composers, including Chaya Czernowin (US/Israel), Federico Favali (Italy), Jānis Petraškevičs (Latvia) and others. Kulla received the honorary title of Tartu Noor Kultuurikandja 2020. The following year, they received a Erkki-Sven Tüür Foundation scholarship. They are the creative producer and assistant artistic director of the music festival AFEKT and teach at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy. In their work, Kulla deals with gender studies, feminism, minority cultures–queer culture, drag culture and historically women-centred activities–, mass media phenomenons and Eastern philosophies.
draaag her
The piece originated from Julia Skelly's edited book, "The Uses of Excess in Visual and Material Culture, 1600-2010," minority culture and camp practices. While composing, I used tools and means related to gender and sexuality through which they are "controlled"–exaggeration (excess), performativity, deviance, and opposition–to subvert expectations about what is considered "normal" or "appropriate." I sought the feeling of confident embarrassment, shame, also tenderness and fragility. The title refers to a slogan that spectators would use when a drag queen "reads" someone (cutting and humorous critique towards somebody, originating from the LGBTQ+ community). The piece uses the musician Flumen's recent single "Kuule poiss" and its remix by boipepperoni. The artists have granted their permission to use their works. Big thanks to Keiu Krikmann for the book recommendation.