Flyover Fest
Downtown Iowa City — Friday and Saturday, April 27-28
Flyover Fest, the festival formerly known as Flyover Fashion Festival, released its 2018 lineup this morning along with an announcement about the festival’s shift beyond fashion. Early bird tickets went on sale today for $33.00.
According to the release, “The theme for this year’s festival is ‘Dream the Future,’ and will explore what a more inclusive, representative and equitable future should look like through fashion, art, performance and discussion.”
The updated Flyover website vows to “take the under out of representation,” and their lineup delivers.
Programming will continue to include fashion-focused events, musical performances, discussions and artist exhibitions including a collaboration with Hancher to exhibit the work of (totally bonkers in the best way) costume designer Machine Dazzle. Iowa City audiences might be familiar with Machine Dazzle through his work with Taylor Mac.
This announcement follows a mission update from the Iowa Fashion Project. As the team laid out in an email, “You may have known us as Iowa Fashion Project (IFP), and while we’re proud of the work we were able to do, our team felt a bigger and much more purposeful calling. What used to be IFP is now simply Flyover, an event and content platform created to amplify marginalized voices and underrepresented groups in fashion, politics, and culture.”
Here are some lineup highlights of the upcoming 2018 Flyover Fest, as described in an email from the production team:
Jessica Andrews // Digital Fashion Editor, Teen Vogue. @DressUpWithJess
A Columbia University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Jessica has written for Teen Vogue, Vanity Fair, ELLE, The New York Times, Black Enterprise, Ebony Magazine and Essence Magazine. During her three-year tenure at Essence Magazine, she spearheaded the magazine’s social media presence and reported on Hurricane Katrina.
Machine Dazzle (Presented by Hancher) // Costume Designer for Taylor Mac. @machinedazzle
Machine Dazzle (né Matthew Flower) moved to New York City in 1994 after attending The University of Colorado Boulder. Mixing odd jobs by day with art and dance clubs by night erupted in a unique lifestyle grounded in costume and performance art. Machine’s DIY and transgressive nature comes face-to-face with his conceptualist-as-artist identity; the results can be seen on stages all over the world.
April K. Quioh and Sophia Carter-Kahn // She’s All Fat Podcast for “body positivity, radical self-love and chill vibes ONLY.” @shesallfatpod
Sophie is a podcaster and a freelance writer, focusing on pop culture, gender, media, history, and fat activism. April K. Quioh is a podcast host and television writer who writes about popular culture, love and blackness.
Evette Dionne // Senior Culture Editor at Bitch Media. @freeblackgirl
Evette Dionne is Bitch Media’s senior culture editor. She’s also a Black feminist culture writer and scholar whose been published in the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, SELF Magazine, Teen Vogue, Bustle, Hello Beautiful, The Root and more.
Momo Pixel // Art Director. Game Designer. Pixel Fashion. Chill Singer. Creator of Hair Nah. @momouhoh
Momo Pixel is an art director, pixel designer, dinger and game designer. In 2017 she released Hair Nah, a video game to keep people from touching black women’s hair. It has since become a global sensation, featured in Oprah Magazine, CNN, Rolling Stone, Essence, Teen Vogue, Vice UK and many, many more.
So I made a game cause I got tired of women putting their hands in my hair. 🤷 https://t.co/q0M3i4Pwoh #donttouchmyhair #hairnah pic.twitter.com/9wsvIHbEMe
— Momo Pixel (@MomoUhOh) November 15, 2017
Ashleigh Shackelford // Black Fat Femme. Nonbinary AF. Cultural Writer. Artist. Creator of #TheFatCensus. @ashleighthelion
Shackelford is a Black fat femme cultural producer, multidisciplinary artist, data futurist and storyteller based in Atlanta, Georgia, with roots in Richmond, Virginia.
Arima Ederra // Alternative soul singer, songwriter and visual artist. @ArimaEderra
Arima Ederra holds truth to the meaning of her name, Soul Beautiful. Arima is a a Los Angeles-based Ethiopian singer, songwriter and visual artist with a mellow, new dreamy expression. At a time when artists aren’t inclined to bare it all, Arima Ederra fearlessly croons from a heart-soaked pocket of divinity.
Cupcakke // Hip Hop Artist, Sex-positive rapper. @cupcakkeafreakk
In June 2016, CupcakKe announced her second album entitled S.T.D which was considered one of the Best Rap Albums of 2016 by Rolling Stone Magazine. That same month, The Fader Magazine commented about CupcakKe being one of the 21 rappers to feel excited about. Pitchfork commented CupcakKe’s career thus far may be defined by her ability to turn out great raunchy anthems, but she is capable of so much more.
CHIKA // Independent Rapper, Singer, Songwriter. @oranicuhh
CHIKA is a 21-year- old Nigerian-American rapper, singer and poet from Montgomery, Alabama. Touching on topics surrounding politics, LGBTq+ rights and the Black experience, Chika aims to use music to create an open dialogue for change in our society.
