Uploaded June 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In an art history lesson like no other, Curatorial Assistant Isabella Holland and local drag performer Per Sia share the stories behind our exhibition The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England and dish on all the dynasty drama.
Learn more about the exhibition: famsf.org/exhibitions/tudors
About Per Sia
With a pedigree from weekly performances at the late, iconic Esta Noche, her trajectory has gone on to include art curation, stand-up, television, and a quinceañera or two, in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and México. Currently, she is a regular performer in the nationally acclaimed “Drag Story Hour.” She is also an educator in residence at an after-school arts program in the San Francisco Unified School District, and has been profiled on KQED Arts, National Public Radio, and CNN.
About the Exhibition
The exhibition follows the development of the arts in England from Henry VII’s seizure of the throne in 1485 to the death of his granddaughter Elizabeth I in 1603. The Tudor period in England saw the end of medieval feudalism, the rise of absolute monarchy, the English Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the expansion of maritime trade. Art and luxury goods were used to legitimize the Tudor dynasty and reinforce shifting religious and foreign policies. Including iconic portraits of England’s most enduring monarchs and lavish works of art in a variety of media, the exhibition traces the evolution of courtly taste in Tudor England, culminating in the distinctly English Elizabethan style.
Watch More:
How Kehinde Wiley Is Reshaping the Monumental
youtube.com/watch?v=wiQTI8Dz3j8
Exploring the life and work of artist Kehinde Wiley, this film takes viewers on a journey from Wiley’s upbringing in South Central Los Angeles to his ascent as one of the world’s most iconic visual artists.
Patrick Kelly: The American in Paris
youtube.com/watch?v=u59WAjIdqfM
Filmed in New York City, Paris, and the de Young museum, this short documentary celebrates the life, career, and legacy of Black fashion designer Patrick Kelly (1954–1990). Kelly’s evolution from “little young American from Mississippi to a grand master of fashion in Paris” is captured in vintage footage, as well as accounts of his friends and close collaborators.
How Artist Lhola Amira Is Making Space for Rest
youtube.com/watch?v=WpLz2rKiwrI
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, contemporary artist Lhola Amira responds to the wounds left by colonization across many disparate contexts to create spaces for healing through connection to the earth, the ancestral, and the spiritual.
Subscribe to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: youtube.com/@FAMSF?sub_confirmation=1
In an art history lesson like no other, Curatorial Assistant Isabella Holland and local drag performer Per Sia share the stories behind our exhibition The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England and dish on all the dynasty drama.
Learn more about the exhibition: famsf.org/exhibitions/tudors
About Per Sia
With a pedigree from weekly performances at the late, iconic Esta Noche, her trajectory has gone on to include art curation, stand-up, television, and a quinceañera or two, in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and México. Currently, she is a regular performer in the nationally acclaimed “Drag Story Hour.” She is also an educator in residence at an after-school arts program in the San Francisco Unified School District, and has been profiled on KQED Arts, National Public Radio, and CNN.
About the Exhibition
The exhibition follows the development of the arts in England from Henry VII’s seizure of the throne in 1485 to the death of his granddaughter Elizabeth I in 1603. The Tudor period in England saw the end of medieval feudalism, the rise of absolute monarchy, the English Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the expansion of maritime trade. Art and luxury goods were used to legitimize the Tudor dynasty and reinforce shifting religious and foreign policies. Including iconic portraits of England’s most enduring monarchs and lavish works of art in a variety of media, the exhibition traces the evolution of courtly taste in Tudor England, culminating in the distinctly English Elizabethan style.
Watch More:
How Kehinde Wiley Is Reshaping the Monumental
youtube.com/watch?v=wiQTI8Dz3j8
Exploring the life and work of artist Kehinde Wiley, this film takes viewers on a journey from Wiley’s upbringing in South Central Los Angeles to his ascent as one of the world’s most iconic visual artists.
Patrick Kelly: The American in Paris
youtube.com/watch?v=u59WAjIdqfM
Filmed in New York City, Paris, and the de Young museum, this short documentary celebrates the life, career, and legacy of Black fashion designer Patrick Kelly (1954–1990). Kelly’s evolution from “little young American from Mississippi to a grand master of fashion in Paris” is captured in vintage footage, as well as accounts of his friends and close collaborators.
How Artist Lhola Amira Is Making Space for Rest
youtube.com/watch?v=WpLz2rKiwrI
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, contemporary artist Lhola Amira responds to the wounds left by colonization across many disparate contexts to create spaces for healing through connection to the earth, the ancestral, and the spiritual.
Subscribe to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: youtube.com/@FAMSF?sub_confirmation=1
