Keith Cole (artist)
Encyclopedia
Keith Cole is a queer
Canadian
performance artist and political activist. Originally from Thunder Bay
, Ontario
, he is currently based in Toronto
. An alumnus of York University
's Fine Arts program, Cole has worked in film and video, dance and theatre performance, both as himself and in character as drag queen
Pepper Highway.
His theatrical work has included the shows Mine, Alma, The Needle Exchange and Dodged Bullets/Missed Opportunities. He also appeared in Maggie MacDonald
's play The Rat King, Luis Jacob
's A Dance for Those of Us Whose Hearts Have Turned to Ice and Jim LeFrancois' musical revue Arthouse Cabaret, garnering a Dora Award
nomination for Best Male Performance in a Musical in 2008 for Arthouse Cabaret.
He has produced and hosted live events in Toronto, including Porn-a-Roake, a comedic event which blended karaoke
performances with amateur porn videos, and Cheap Queers, an annual performance night of LGBT
entertainers at Buddies in Bad Times
. He was also a contestant in the original 2006 edition of Canada's Worst Handyman
, and was named the winner in the final episode.
Cole is most famous for an incident in December 2004. While hosting a fundraiser
at Buddies in Bad Times, the audience appeared to be losing interest due to poor work by some of the performers — accordingly, during one of his introductions he pulled down his pants and began to urinate
on the stage. Although he was publicly criticized by Fife House, the event's beneficiary, he has noted in subsequent interviews that the press attention he gained from the incident actually advanced, rather than hindering, his career.
He has been the subject of two songs by Toronto-based queercore
band Kids on TV
, "We Are the New Keith Cole" and "Still On About Keith Cole". Cole performed a vocal in the album version of the former song, and directed the music video
for the latter.
. His major campaign themes involved support for arts and culture, improvements to the city's bicycling network, and efforts to increase and develop a renewed sense of civic engagement in the city, where recent municipal elections have seen voter turnout
of as little as 40 per cent or less. He also campaigned on the issue of adding green space to the city's Yonge-Dundas Square, staging a "MILF
Diaper Toss" on May 9 after having a political discussion in which he was discouraged from pursuing the issue on the questionable grounds that adding trees to the square would encourage young mothers to litter the space with dirty diapers.
He was one of two "minor" candidates, along with Rocco Achampong, selected by an online vote to participate alongside the six "major" ones in a debate on municipal voting reform sponsored by the civic advocacy group Better Ballots. He also initially led an online poll to select a "minor" candidate for inclusion in a debate sponsored by ArtsVote on the city's arts and culture programs, but withdrew due to concerns that the poll was too easily manipulated and hijacked.
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
performance artist and political activist. Originally from Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, he is currently based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. An alumnus of York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
's Fine Arts program, Cole has worked in film and video, dance and theatre performance, both as himself and in character as drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
Pepper Highway.
His theatrical work has included the shows Mine, Alma, The Needle Exchange and Dodged Bullets/Missed Opportunities. He also appeared in Maggie MacDonald
Maggie MacDonald
Maggie MacDonald is a writer, playwright and musician who lives in Toronto, Ontario.-Early life and education:MacDonald grew up in Cornwall, Ontario, where she became active in the local independent rock music scene. She put on shows and creating a fanzine called Saucy, which gained attention...
's play The Rat King, Luis Jacob
Luis Jacob
-Life and work:Jacob was born in Lima, Peru and moved to Canada with his family when he was ten. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1996....
's A Dance for Those of Us Whose Hearts Have Turned to Ice and Jim LeFrancois' musical revue Arthouse Cabaret, garnering a Dora Award
Dora Mavor Moore Award
The Dora Mavor Moore Award is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance, and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped establish Canadian professional theatre, the award was established on December 13, 1978...
nomination for Best Male Performance in a Musical in 2008 for Arthouse Cabaret.
He has produced and hosted live events in Toronto, including Porn-a-Roake, a comedic event which blended karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
performances with amateur porn videos, and Cheap Queers, an annual performance night of LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
entertainers at Buddies in Bad Times
Buddies in Bad Times
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company.Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, Buddies in Bad Times is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical expression"....
. He was also a contestant in the original 2006 edition of Canada's Worst Handyman
Canada's Worst Handyman
Canada's Worst Handyman is the 2006 season of the reality television series Canada's Worst Handyman airing on Discovery Channel Canada, produced by Proper Television...
, and was named the winner in the final episode.
Cole is most famous for an incident in December 2004. While hosting a fundraiser
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
at Buddies in Bad Times, the audience appeared to be losing interest due to poor work by some of the performers — accordingly, during one of his introductions he pulled down his pants and began to urinate
Urination
Urination, also known as micturition, voiding, peeing, weeing, pissing, and more rarely, emiction, is the ejection of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. In healthy humans the process of urination is under voluntary control...
on the stage. Although he was publicly criticized by Fife House, the event's beneficiary, he has noted in subsequent interviews that the press attention he gained from the incident actually advanced, rather than hindering, his career.
He has been the subject of two songs by Toronto-based queercore
Queercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...
band Kids on TV
Kids on TV
Kids on TV are a punk-house queercore band based in Toronto.The group consists of John Caffery on bass and vocals, Minus Smile on drums, electronics and vocals, Wolf on guitar and vocals, and Roxy on keyboard and vocals. The band is known for performing outside of the usual venues, such as bars,...
, "We Are the New Keith Cole" and "Still On About Keith Cole". Cole performed a vocal in the album version of the former song, and directed the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the latter.
Mayoral candidacy
In 2010, Cole ran as a candidate for Mayor of Toronto in the city's mayoral electionToronto mayoral election, 2010
The 2010 Toronto mayoral election was held on October 25, 2010 to elect a mayor of the City of Toronto, Canada. The mayor's seat was open for the first time since the 2003 Toronto election due to the announcement by incumbent mayor David Miller that he will not seek a third term in office...
. His major campaign themes involved support for arts and culture, improvements to the city's bicycling network, and efforts to increase and develop a renewed sense of civic engagement in the city, where recent municipal elections have seen voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
of as little as 40 per cent or less. He also campaigned on the issue of adding green space to the city's Yonge-Dundas Square, staging a "MILF
MILF
MILF, an acronym for "Mother/Mom/Mum I'd Like to Fuck", is a common colloquial term generally regarded as vulgar when spelled out. It denotes a sexually attractive older female, generally between 25 and 50 years of age.-History:...
Diaper Toss" on May 9 after having a political discussion in which he was discouraged from pursuing the issue on the questionable grounds that adding trees to the square would encourage young mothers to litter the space with dirty diapers.
He was one of two "minor" candidates, along with Rocco Achampong, selected by an online vote to participate alongside the six "major" ones in a debate on municipal voting reform sponsored by the civic advocacy group Better Ballots. He also initially led an online poll to select a "minor" candidate for inclusion in a debate sponsored by ArtsVote on the city's arts and culture programs, but withdrew due to concerns that the poll was too easily manipulated and hijacked.