Meet Cassandra Harner | Artist & Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cassandra Harner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cassandra, what principle do you value most?
I value collaboration, or interdependence, within my community. As an artist, I want to make something that I’m proud of, but also that speaks to my audience. I wouldn’t have success if I didn’t integrate with what was already going on in my city, and collaborate with people that are making work that I admire. We don’t exist in a vacuum, and success doesn’t feel like success if there’s nobody to share it with.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve been doing drag for nearly 7 years now, and I love how it’s allowed me to perform live. Before drag, I was learning to perform for a camera in private, and editing exactly what I wanted people to see. Now, with drag I take more risks and have worked off a lot of stage fright. Drag is also a very generative format and a scene that I can fit into. It feeds ideas to me, and it’s easy to meet people and make friends. It’s strange to now be considered an “elder” in the scene, and I’m proud of that, and also want to take better responsibility for how I show up, how I produce, and how I’m setting an example. I’m also finding myself moving beyond drag spaces, and making my own music. The music scene is very intimidating to me, the audiences aren’t as forgiving, but I think of it as a “final boss” in my performance development. I’m looking forward to the challenge, and see how my hybrid style can navigate these different spaces.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love to curate a visit to Cleveland, but I also don’t want too many people finding out that Cleveland is cool, so this is top secret material.

I’m on the west side, so I’d take them to my home bar, No Class, for a drag show. After, we’d go to Funhouse, the neighborhood bar with the skeletons out front, across the street from the Taco Bell where we had the punk show pop up that went viral.

Hopefully there’s something going on at Convivium, where we could see some unusual music or noise acts. The space is a beautiful, converted church with huge sculpture and paintings.

Time your visit in September so you can see Ingenuity Festival. It’s a giant warehouse of DIY projects that are always so impressive and magical to see.

Maelstrom Collaborative Arts has programming throughout the year that I help out with, so it’s a must see for experimental art.

We’d eat at Cilantro if we were on the east side. Hopefully Wizbang is up to something, and we’d see a circus show. I always love Little Italy too, and Algebra is one of my favorite cafes of all time.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I love to shout out Dr. Lady J, who taught me pretty much everything I know about drag and is always a source for learning more. If I ever need a book or movie recommendation, or even just need advice, she’s the first person I think of.

Website: https://www.charnerart.com

Instagram: @dvstybvcket

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/cassandraharner

Other: https://deadweightdate.bandcamp.com/ is my music project

Image Credits
Bridget Caldwell, Bob Perkoski, Jasmine Golphin, Drella Darko