How do you commemorate your reign as the empress of the Imperial Council of San Francisco?

If you’re Bay Area drag legendJuanita More你,庆祝新的壁画使不灭你r time on the throne.

More can be seen next to San Francisco’s famed drag couturier and emperor Mr. David Glamamore, immortalized on the exterior of the Midway, a Bayview event space. The mural shows More and Glamamore wearing their empress and emperor sashes with the imperial tiara perched on More’s towering bouffant. It was inspired by the Imperial Court coronation picture taken in January by San Francisco photographer Fred Rowe at the Saint Joseph’s Arts Society.

San Francisco artist Josh Katz, who also painted the 2021 mural in tribute to disco queen Sylvester at the Oasis nightclub in the South of Market district, revealed the mural on Feb. 12.

“When planning this mural, I wanted to incorporate symbols that would highlight the glamorous legacies of Juanita More and Mr. David Glamamore as pioneers of San Francisco queer nightlife,” said Katz. “I decided to paint them emerging from a thick San Francisco fog, illuminated by moon and starlight, surrounded by regal gold and jewels, ready to assume their places as empress and emperor of the night.”

At almost 30 feet long and 15 feet tall, the piece is his “largest and most technical mural to date,” Katz said.

“When I passed by that (Sylvester mural), I was just blown away,” recalled More. “It was so realistic in his style. The minute I saw it I was like, ‘I have to figure out how to work with Josh.’ ”

The mural at the Midway was underwritten by More’s friend AJ Shelton, CEO of the car service estimate website RepairPal. The Midway donated the wall space and plans to keep it up indefinitely on the Illinois Street-facing wall.

On Saturday, Feb. 26, More plans to host a free dance party, featuring DJ Josh Cheon and mobile disco Baaahs, to celebrate Katz’s work. The day also marks the end of More and Glamamore’s time on court; thereafter, the two join the ranks of “absolute empresses and emperors,” the honorific bestowed on alumni of the top positions. The next court will be elected Saturday, Feb. 26.

This is More’s eighth mural, part of a signature project she has become known for over the past decade. Think of the famed drag mother of the House of More as San Francisco’s own Kiki de Montparnasse, the famous artist model of 1920s Paris, or a drag version of Italian noble Marchesa Luisa Casati, who was known for commissioning many early 20th century artists to paint, photograph and sculpt her likeness.

As a local nightlife personality, civil rights activist and DJ, More has been aided in crafting her image by Glamamore, a drag performer in his own right who has created thousands of showstopping looks for More and her More Boys backup dancers. Together they’ve served on the court since beingelected by voters who cast their ballots in April at LGBTQ community hubs throughout the city like Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro.

The Imperial Council of San Francisco Inc. was founded in 1965 byJose Sarria— the first openly gay candidate for San Francisco supervisor in 1961 and the court’s first empress — as an LGBTQ activist and fundraising group. Since then, the nonprofit has grown to include chapters in more than 80 locations across North America. The Imperial Court has become so well-known in LGBTQ culture that itwas the subject of Jethro Patalinghug’s 2018 documentary “50 years of Fabulous.”

More said she decided to run for empress out of concern that the organization’s presence in San Francisco was fading during the pandemic and is proud of the support she and Glamamore have been able to attract from younger community members. During the 10-month term, More estimates having raised $150,000 for the Imperial Court, which disperses money to beneficiaries like Larkin Street Youth Services, San Francisco Night Ministries, the AIDS Emergency Fund and San Francisco LGBT Center.

The East Bay native, who marks her 30th anniversary as a drag performer this fall, is well-known for her annualGay Pride Sunday partyand as a prolific fundraiser in the LGBTQ community. In that capacity, More estimates she has raised more than $1 million for organizations including the GBLT Historical Society & Museum, Our Trans Youth, Q Foundation, Queer Lifespace and Transgender Law Center.

As for her passion for murals, More said that she sees the art she has commissioned as an extension of her work as a community builder.

“Public art, in general, helps bring communities together and puts a spotlight on new and emerging artists,” More said, before adding: “But, in all honesty, it’s because I’m pretty.”

To date, More has been immortalized in seven other murals. In 2021, she was one of several community figures depicted by J. Manuel Carmona and Simón Malvaez in “Queeroes” at theSF LGBT Center.Others include works by Serge Gay Jr. at 14th and Guerrero streets, as well as one in Fern Alley near Polk Street. Artists Elliott C Nathan, Blake Cedric and Guilherme Lemes Cardoso e Silva have all painted More throughout the years in murals in the South of Market neighborhood and near Alamo Square.

她的第一幅壁画,也被卡,仍然可以竞争wed on 18th Street at the former Union Made boutique location near Sanchez Street.

Some of the murals have been supported by small individual donations from community members, while others were funded through businesses. A mural at Steiner and Grove streets, for instance, was paid for by 21 Seeds Tequila, and Gay’s aforementioned mural was sponsored by SPARC cannabis dispensary.

Not content with just being a mural queen, however, More hopes to open an exhibit this fall of works on canvas depicting her, as well as displaying some of her most famous wardrobe pieces from throughout the decades.

“I grew up with people in my family who were involved in the arts and pushed me to be artistic,” said More. “I’ve always surrounded myself with artists and have such passion for supporting them. I love to see how people see me, no matter what their style is.”

Juanita More’s Mural Party:5-6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26. Free. The Midway, 900 Marin St., S.F.themidwaysf.com

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