Today we’d like to introduce you to Indie Johnson
Hi Indie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My name is Indie Johnson and I am the founder of the Harvest Cabaret. I listened to my peers asking for a place where we could embody ourselves on stage and share skills that we’ve been cultivating in private. I have a deep love for musical theater and a knack for nurturing others’ talents. With encouragement and a can-do attitude, I assembled a talented team of artists and creators to build the cabaret from the ground up. Through this process, we all became better-skilled carpenters, culinary artists able to feed our community, and better performers who use peer review to sharpen our skills while building community morale.
The Harvest Cabaret was founded on November 21, 2021, in the West End of Atlanta, in a backyard that we transformed into an amphitheater complete with a fully modular stage, a food hub, a memorial for the trans lives lost that year, an art gallery honoring powerful women deities, and a photo booth to make memories.
The Harvest Cabaret has had the pleasure of working with Yes, Please Book Store and Care Space for our 2024 celebration show back in GA after a travel stint in Dallas, TX, and is now at the Multi-Use Radical People’s Hall (The MURPH) in the West End of Atlanta for our 2025 show year. The Murph is a space cultivating change in the community and generating resources to build a better future. We are excited to partner with these organizations for future cabaret experiences like burlesque dinner parties and karaoke nights.
At the Harvest Cabaret we are cultivating an environment that makes space for queer, black, trans, people of color who are artisans, performers, thespians, and musicians who have a deep love for the art of performance and camaraderie to be ourselves, embody all the parts that deserve to see the light and develop our skills to equip ourselves with knowledge and useful abilities to exact change in our personal lives and communities.
We are a self funded community project so donations both monetary and in kind are always welcomed. Follow us @TheHarvestCabaret on Instagram for updates and up coming events.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been countless struggles creating this project which is the territory of trying something new. We have been tinkering for the last four years and will continue to improve our experiences with each iteration of the show. Even though building teams, sharing skills, and matching schedules will always present obstacles, it is how we recover and maneuver at the speed of trust that makes this vision possible. The reoccurring challenge has been funding. We are self-funded and receive donations, monetary and in-kind resources, to produce such elaborate productions.
Everyone who participates in the experiences, cast and crew, is compensated for their time and efforts. We have been applying for grants for years with little luck. Our philosophy is simple: Quality over quantity, we are the celebrities, and luxury does not belong to the elite. We will not sacrifice a quality experience for our people- this looks like feeding quality meals catered by local queer/trans chefs, top-tier entertainment, local queer adult vendors, and so much more. It would be a blessing to receive more help to further this vision of community empowerment especially grants and angel funders.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Harvest Cabaret is interactive queerlesque variety show that pays homage to the cycles of life, personified through movement, live music, art, and burlesque. This is a celebration of queer and trans talent that has been cultivated both in community and in isolation, offering a space to safely embody ourselves in our most empowered, whole, and abundantly divine forms, especially women and femmes.
We are a group of QTPOC cultivating something beautiful, raunchy, and fun that will give our people the platform to harvest the fruits of what they’ve sown. We are community building for the community.
Harvest Cabaret debuted its third live production February 14th and 15th. Hosted at the MURPH in West End Atlanta, GA and preparing for our anniversary show in November.
Erasure of queer and trans people is a prevalent issue in our society. Many communities are left out of the stories and history they create, so we must take it upon ourselves to document our trials, triumphs, and joys. If we do not, who will? Therefore, this lounge pays homage to the cycles of life and the constant state of transformation of the world. To embody these concepts, the cabaret features Burlesque performance (solo and group), live music (lounge singers, bands, rappers), spoken word (poetry, monologue, stand-up), and visual art (paintings, graphics, sculptures). Thematically, performers take inspiration from the following keywords when designing their 5 minute (movement) – 7 minute (music) sets: Death to Rebirth, Celebration, (sexy) Release (sexy), Reflection, Catharsis, AbunDance, Divine Cycles, Acceptance, Blossom, Bloom, Sweet & Sticky Like Honey. Join us for a night of passionate catharsis. The world is literally on fire right now, so we better find the fun!
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I am a chef and baker by trade. I have been baking and catering for over 15 years. I believe in food sovereignty. I also make gourmet edibles like banana pudding cheesecake cupcakes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://indiejohnsonmedia.wixsite.com/hardfem
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theharvestcabaret/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/artofliberationco/
Image Credits
Photographed by Alexis Jayde & Nathanael Cabouet
