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Martin Padgett visual arts materials

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.VIS416

Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials used by Martin Padgett in research for his book A Night at the Sweet Gum Head: Drag, Drugs, Disco, and Atlanta’s Gay Revolution. Items include photos of staff and drag performers, primarily John Greenwell (1950- ) as Rachel Wells, at Sweet Gum Head, a prominent drag and gay bar at 2284 Cheshire Bridge Rd. NE, Atlanta, Georgia, from 1971 to 1981; a poster promoting the Phoenix Affair II, a charity show held to benefit the Atlanta Ballet in 1973; and a signed poster promoting singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester’s live performances at the Great Southeast Music Hall in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1973. All photographs were taken in Atlanta, Georgia, unless otherwise noted.

Dates

  • 1972-1983

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

This material is protected by copyright law. (Title 17, U.S. Code) Permission for use must be cleared through the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Licensing agreement may be required.

Biographical / Historical

Martin Padgett (1969- ) was born in Brandywine, Maryland, to Martin (1942- ) and Barbara Padgett (1946- ). He graduated from Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, Maryland, in 1987 and attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. After graduating from Duke University in 1991, Padgett relocated to Michigan, where he worked as an editor for Car and Driver, an automotive magazine. He later took a job in public relations for Mercedes-Benz in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1997, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and began his career as a freelance writer and journalist. He has since written for such publications as The Washington Post, BusinessWeek, and Men’s Health, and worked as Editorial Director in the automotive group Internet Brands, an online media company. Padgett earned his Master of Fine Arts in Narrative Nonfiction writing from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2018. The following year, he was named a Lambda Literary Fellow. In 2021, W.W. Norton published Padgett’s book A Night at the Sweet Gum Head: Drag, Drugs, Disco, and Atlanta’s Gay Revolution.

Extent

16 item(s) (seven black and white photographic prints, seven color photographic prints, and two posters)

Language

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection is arranged alphabetically by titles supplied by staff. Drag queen stage names are listed in direct order.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift, 2017

Related Materials

Atlanta Lesbian and Gay History Thing papers and publications, MSS 773, Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center

Atlanta Lesbian and Gay History Thing visual arts materials, VIS 412, Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center

Processing Information

This collection was processed in 2021.

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Martin Padgett visual arts materials
Subtitle
ahc.VIS416
Author
Aleece Bustamante
Date
November 2021
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository

http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/
Contact:
130 West Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta GA 30305
404-814-4040