Pieces from this year’s Key West Headdress Ball will be featured in the forthcoming exhibition “Key West Headdress Ball: Celebrating 40 Years of Creativity” which opens with a special reception at the Key West Museum of Art & History on the evening of Friday, November 10.  (Photo Credit: Contributed)

Flamboyant Headdress Ball Creations to be Featured in a Key West Museum of Art & History Exhibition

October 31, 2023 – (KEY WEST, FL).  The Key West Art & Historical Society is pleased to announce the opening of its forthcoming exhibition “Key West Headdress Ball: Celebrating 40 Years of Creativity.”  Produced for four decades by the Key West Business Guild, this exhibition will showcase many of this year’s Headdress Ball elaborate creations alongside vintage headdresses from years past.  More than 20 assemblages will be presented offering museum attendees the chance to get an up-close view of the complex work involved in creating pieces for the annual contest.  The Society welcomes the public to a special reception on November 10 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Key West Museum of Art & History, 281 Front Street, to mark the exhibit opening.

The Headdress Ball was one of the first organized Fantasy Fest events, originating only four years after the first parade in 1979.  Initially held at the Monster Bar on Front Street, the headdress competition relocated to the Copa Nightclub, Bourbon Street Pub, Atlantic Shores, Southernmost Hotel and eventually to its new home at the Coffee Butler Amphitheater.  Each year, headdresses have become more and more ostentatious, often incorporating surprise elements such as moving parts, bubble guns, and surprise reveals.  The event is also the Key West Business Guild’s major fundraiser with proceeds benefitting the promotion of the island as a LGBTQ+ destination.

“During a conversation with Peter Arnow, organizer of Headdress Ball for the last 30 years, it struck us both that after four decades of the competition, the Society should host an exhibition to applaud and commend the long-running program,” says Cori Convertito, curator and historian for the Key West Museum of Art & History.  “We enjoy staging exhibitions that combine both art and history elements.  Headdress is the ideal confluence of these themes, and we are thrilled that our visitors will get a glimpse into the complex elements incorporated into the head pieces and accompanying costumes.”

“Key West Headdress Ball: Celebrating 40 Years of Creativity” runs until December 3, 2023, in the Bryan Gallery and is sponsored by the Florida Department of State, Division of Arts & Culture, with additional support provided by The Helmerich Trust.  For more information, call Cori Convertito at 305-295-6616 x 507 or [email protected].  Your Museums.  Your Community.  It Takes an Island.

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