Today we’d like to introduce you to Duchess of Grant Park, Ava Davis.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As long as I can remember, I’ve had a fascination with tiaras. I was born in Germany and raised in Southern California, the child of a military officer. But I’ve always had a fascination with the continent – England, France, Spain, etc. I think Her Grace’s origins began with my fascination with tiaras and crowns, the history and decline of European monarchies, and my dad’s tendency to call me Crown Prince growing up. It was a term of endearment he had towards me, as I was his firstborn, and also with the once a year reminder that, were anything to happen to him, I was to help carry the responsibility of the family as much as I could.
Growing up, I thought I’d end up being an architect, then a journalist once I got into college. I even got into Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, intending to becoming a magazine writer. But, my creative tendencies dictated differently, and I ended up studying comparative literature, combining my love of languages, literature, film, and art into a major.
However, the story of Her Grace, the Duchess of Grant Park, begins a bit differently. After I settled into Atlanta, after graduating from the University of Georgia, and settled into my tribe of creatives, and became involved in the Atlanta film scene as an actor, writer, and producer, I started my company last year, Studio Vosges, to bring to light the narratives of queer black and brown stories. Her Grace’s history is rooted in my history.
Her Grace’s story begins two years ago, as just an idea for a micro-short film, and at first was just a quick, humorous story about a woman who declares the Grant Park neighborhood in Atlanta as her duchy. When the project fell through, I wanted to stick with the director I’d been paired with, Brandon Mitchell. And I started to expand the story, and take her from being a stock two-dimensional trans character to a fully realized person, with a past and dreams for the future.
As pre-production unfolded, and I started creating social media accounts for the project, we realized that Her Grace would have to be brought to life, and brought out in the world to truly have an impact, and to make the story complete. And, in the process, while applying for grants, I remember a question on one that asked how the project benefited the community.
While we didn’t get the grant, I took that question and tried to determine how the Duchess could benefit the community. Our community. To be more than just a fun, hopefully, successful commercial endeavor but to do more and to actually become a duchess, a woman who uses her title for a good while promoting healing and community empowerment. In her own words, “Being royalty is more than just pretty dresses and glittering tiaras. It’s about being there for your community when and if they call, and asking, “how can I help?” Do don’t just be.
I dream of a house, a great house, the people’s house, where my subjects can always find an attentive ear, a place of shelter, a bite to eat, a place to rest, and someone to help. I dream of a duchy, one where my subjects and I can live our lives out loud, a place to raise a family of our choosing, and a place to retire without feeling judged or unwanted. I dream of places of love, love so strong it hurts and it heals. Of embassies throughout the southeast where, if needed, a runaway teen could some of those things they couldn’t find at home. That is what I will spend my life building.
And that is the mission of the Duchess. First, and foremost, to go around crowning people in her community with tiaras, and promoting better self-care and mental health awareness. But also finding a way to establish a safe space for marginalized communities – specifically queer black, indigenous, people of color. To hopefully speak out on injustices, and be a voice for those who need their message amplified, whether that is our most vulnerable population of children and the elderly, or our marginalized communities.
We ended up filming the 20-minute short film last September, and since then, I’ve been fortunate to have the Duchess emerge as a figure in the Grant Park Community, and beyond. I was invited to walk in the Atlanta Pride Parade as the guest of Orran Booher and his businessBakerdude Bakery Cafe. I attended the 2nd Annual Mayor’s Pride Reception. At the request of the Grant Park Conservancy, I was asked to participate in events at the first annual Canopy Soiree in the newly completed Savannah Hall at the Atlanta Zoo. I’ve also been able to donate tiaras in the community, which serve as a totem to all who have received one to practice self-care and self-love, in the hopes that by being a healed person we can give back to others in our community.
Her Grace, the Duchess of Grant Park, is a suo-jure duchess, annexing the neighborhood of Grant Park in Atlanta in 2018. Her Grace hopes to add a bit of magic to the lives of her subjects near and far, and especially to children everywhere. The upcoming short film is a fictional version of the Duchess’s real-life (for example, the Duchess in real life was not adopted, and had two loving parents who have supported her. She’s also technically a crown princess, her full name being Crown Princess Ava Patricia Danielle Morgan Davis, Duchess of Grant Park, but that’s for another time).
But most importantly, the neighborhood of Grant Park has been incredibly kind, welcome, and affirming as Her Grace made the decision to begin transitioning from male to female. It has been a neighborhood that has made her feel safe and loved. The neighborhood of Grant Park is incredibly affirming and welcomes everyone, and Her Grace feels it important that this feeling of comfort and safety should be available to every LGBTQ person (and non-LGBTQ).
And, as a side note, the film is almost finished with post-production, and hopefully, we will find a way to take the Duchess on the festival circuit to promote self-care and community engagement, and afterward take the Duchess on tour throughout the Southeast in hopes of raising trans and queer visibility, so that our rural communities can become safer spaces for all of us.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Yes, and no. God, there were so many bumps along the way to self-discovery, in therapy, and acknowledging being transgender and transitioning. The heart of the Duchess’s story in the short film is that she wants to give back to her community after it has been so supportive as she transitioned and she does so by passing out magic and tiaras. And, in film, magic is certainly easy, but in real life making magic costs a bit.
Leading up to production, we had to reconfigure our budget, we had to push back crowd-funding until basically, we started filming, and our post-production work has been deeply affected by COVID-19, as our post-production team had to put the project on the back-burner until the situation settled for everyone. but this has delayed and push backed our festival submission planned and have missed out submitting to a couple of international festivals which required premiere status. And then, there are the logistics and practicality of becoming a Duchess on a very limited budget.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
There’s Her Grace, the Duchess of Grant Park, and then there’s the production company I’ve started, Studio Vosges, under which all of this technically falls. And I started the production company to tell this story and to tell the story and amplify the creative voices and narratives of trans and queer black, brown, indigenous, and people of color. I think so far, I’m most proud of how the Duchess has been able to give back to her community in a small way, and I really hope I’m able to give back more as time goes on.
I think what sets the Duchess apart (besides her impeccable tiara and jewelry collection, her titles, and her sense of fashion) is her work in giving back to the community. I want her to be a force for good, for amplifying the voices of those who need to be heard. As part of fundraising, during normal times, the Duchess held tea parties and themed photoshoots to help raise money to complete the film and raise funds for festival submissions. We will resume these once it is safe.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My big plans for the Duchess are to get post-production completed (Nicole Kemper (editor), Brandon Mitchell (director and producer), and Brandon Bristol (sound designer) have been an incredible team to help this film cross the finish line and to help advance Her Grace’s mission. Once completed, we can begin the process of submitting to festivals (and possibly a bit of crown-funding to support these costs) with hopes of spreading mental health awareness, better self-care and self-love practices, and amplifying the voices of vulnerable and marginalized communities (children, elderly, BIPOC, and queer and transgender BIPOC).
After the festival circuit, I hope to take the film and the Duchess on tour throughout the Southeast in hopes of increasing trans and queer visibility in hopes of making the lives of queer and trans people safer in smaller communities. Having visible representation is an important component into decreasing the fear of the unknown, and giving those who’ve never met trans people the chance to meet and get to know in hopes of making the lives of their children and their children’s children safer as some of them discover the fact that he or she may be queer or trans.
And, at some point, building a great home for the duchess where she can provide shelter for those who may need it, and a building a duchy where people can live their lives in safety. But, those are the long term plans. For now, the goal is to just keep doing good and amplifying voices in my community as best as I can.
Contact Info:
- Address: 328 Boulevard SE
Atlanta Georgia 30312 - Website: www.duchessofgrantpark.com
- Email: duchess@duchessofgrantpark.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/duchessofgrantpark/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DuchessofGrantPark/
Image Credit:
Kevin Harry, John Fletcher, Eddie William Sellers, Ava Davis
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
