Artist Profile: Peregrine Honig
By: Maggie Laubscher
Peregrine Honig
For our inaugural artist profile, we had the chance to speak with Peregrine Honig -- Nelle member and prolific artist. By age 22, she had her work purchased by the Whitney Museum of American Art for its permanent collection. By age three, her drawings had been published in a book on gifted children. By age 17, she landed in KC from San Francisco to attend the Kansas City Art Institute. She has made Kansas City her home ever since.
The multi-talented Honig is also the co-owner of lingerie shop Birdies with Alexis Burggrabe and senior artistic director of the West 18th Street Fashion Show. The latter is celebrating its 20th year with an innovative feature-length movie premiering October 16 at Boulevard Drive-In.
The film is a pandemic-era alternative to a traditional fashion show. Honig wrote the screenplay and was director of creative development on the film, leading the project alongside a tight-knit team of creatives. As Honig said, ‘Everybody on the team, they’re just my favorite people to work with.’
The team includes Jeff Evrard as photographer; Brooklynn Love as co-producer, talent scout and designer curator; Khitam Jabr as director; April Dion as director of marketing and communications and associate producer; Calvin Arsenia as musical director and lead actor; Celeste Lupercio as executive producer; and others.
Titled ‘Summer in Hindsight,’ the film follows a creative young man, played by musician Calvin Arsenia, navigating a global pandemic during the summer of 2020. The story is shot in iconic Kansas City spaces, with scenes based on the 11 fashion designers in this year’s fashion show.
This is the first in a new series on local artists. Read on below…
‘Summer in Hindsight’ filming
Photo by Jeff Evrard, show photographer
Tell me about your most recent project.
The most recent project is a feature-length movie being debuted at Boulevard Drive-In on October 16.
We are in our 20th year of the West 18th Street Fashion Show, which is typically an outdoor event with a 100-foot runway on West 18th Street. Then we encountered a pandemic. And then we encountered a cultural revolution. So, we all collectively pivoted.
‘It was a lot, but filmmaking tends to be a lot,’ said Jabr. ‘She did a fantastic job.’ Jabr is an experienced film director from Kansas City who now lives in New York City; she brought not only her experience to the project but also, as Honig notes, her dynamic and brilliant perspective.
Our film schedule was 10 days and that included one day off. We filmed in 19 locations all around Kansas City. We followed a 45-page protocol on Covid-19 guidelines. I asked so much of my community and so much of these museums. It’s such a collective effort.
‘It’s our 20th year, we knew we needed to keep the tradition going,’ said Dion. ‘Peregrine is very optimistic - about life and about projects, particularly this one.’
Especially now, with such intense isolation, I believe this project is really important. It’s something to look forward to. I definitely feel like I just finished stretching and putting the sketch down for a 10,000 foot painting.
Outside of that project, what would you say drives you creatively?
My time on earth. In the beginning of Covid, I think we all have that memory of when we thought that martial law was going to restrict us to our homes. I’m comfortable with what I’ve done with my life so far, but I wasn’t ready to be sick and die.
I think about the fact that as a child, I had a drive to do something that other people didn’t necessarily have. When I met Calvin Arsenia, I immediately recognized, ‘Oh, he understands this idea of turning material into thought.’ That it’s not just his voice, but it’s also the way the room smells and the way people find out about the project and the drink they have in their hand. The overall experience of art, not just what’s on the wall.
‘I love working with Peregrine because she has a vision beyond what most people see,’ said Arsenia. ‘We want this film to be a marker in history. I haven't seen something in the art world produced with this much beauty and integrity, especially in a pandemic.’
‘Summer in Hindsight’ filming
Photo by Jeff Evrard, show photographer
How did you develop your career?
I don’t really consider my identity as an artist to be a career. I would never apply the word career to what I do. Because a career is something where you do it and it has the intention to build wealth. Being an artist, it’s more like you’re creating problems and solving problems.
‘It’s been wonderful to watch her brilliant mind work,’ offered Lupercio. ‘She gets so much done. She’s so intuitive about what’s possible and the next thing you know this thing is done.’
Why is Kansas City your home base?
I was raised in San Francisco. My family is from New York. I landed here and there was a lot of space. There is a lot of funding for the arts and there are a lot of people who support the arts not just as an idea or as a posture. They believe in artists.
I really like something to push up against. It’s a different kind of bubble than a bigger city. You maybe have to work a little harder. And then once you work hard and prove yourself, then when you ask a museum if you can make a movie during a pandemic, they say yes.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
I think this movie might be it. I mean, that’s the thing. There’s really nothing behind me that’s my greatest accomplishment. It’s definitely the thing that I’m working towards accomplishing.
‘Summer in Hindsight’ filming
Photo by Jeff Evrard, show photographer
Can you tell me about a woman who inspires you?
You know, it’s funny. I’ve really avoided, since I was young, being in all-female shows. I’ve been in male shows but it was never called the all-male show. I would rather be asked to be in a show because of my work or be asked who inspires me, instead of qualifying it with the gender.
That’s a wonderful point. Can you instead tell me about a person who inspires you?
Robin Givhan from the Washington Post. I like how she uses fashion to talk about politics. And I like that she went into writing and educated herself from a political standpoint and then wrote this amazing book, The Battle of Versailles.
Who else has been really interesting to me lately? You know, Nina Simone. I mean, come on, what a badass. Just the way that she moves through time and space, using music as a platform.
And finally, why did you join The Nelle?
I joined The Nelle because Lauren came into the shop [Birdies]. She purchased the closing piece from the West 18th Street Fashion Show. There was this pearl robe and it closed the show. It was so beautiful and so heavy and so decadent. She just tried it on and it was hers. The way she was so little and so full of life. She had all these great plans and all these great ideas.
I just like that she is trying to make a space for people to be comfortable in their skin. I feel like the West 18th Street Fashion Show is exactly that: a space where people can feel comfortable decorating and adorning and telling a story with their bodies.
More Info…
To learn more about this year’s West 18th Street Fashion Show, head to its website. The movie premieres October 16 at 7 p.m., under the stars at Boulevard Drive-In.
Tickets are on sale and range from $100 to $500 per carload of up to four people. Get them here. Proceeds from ticket sales go directly to the production of “Summer In Hindsight,” renting The Boulevard Drive-In, and taking the film beyond the borders of Kansas City.
