Jesus Loves Drag is the culmination of a seven-year photographic archive built by Gustavo Lopes through years of participating in and documenting New York City’s annual Drag March. Featuring an exhibition of intimate portraits as well as the publication of an accompanying book of photographs, history, and interviews, Jesus Loves Drag serves as a visual tribute to the Drag March, and is dedicated to the communities and individuals who carry on its legacy.

The Drag March began in 1994 as a defiant response to the exclusion of drag from that year’s official Pride events. Since then, it has become an enduring tradition, taking place annually on the Friday before the official NYC Pride Parade. The exhibition title, Jesus Loves Drag, draws from church pamphlets repurposed by the queer activist collective Church Ladies for Choice to promote that inaugural march. Inspired by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, they transformed the phrase “Jesus Loves You” into “Jesus Loves Drag,” and distributed 2,000 Xeroxed copies in gay bars, recasting a church slogan as a sharp, clever rallying cry. Over time, the Drag March has sustained its identity as a grassroots, non-commercial movement, deeply rooted in community, resistance, and inclusivity.

Gustavo Lopes captures the March’s radical legacy within a contemporary backdrop, bridging its pioneers with newer generations who together embody drag’s evolving spectrum and the March’s lasting power. His photographs move between moments of performance and vulnerable candids, with a lens that mirrors the intimacy and boldness of the March. As current Drag March organizer Huckle Feary explains: “Gustavo Lopes captures more than glitter, protest signs, or towering heels. These images bear witness to a community in motion—one that dares to be seen, heard, and celebrated on its own terms. They reflect resilience, intimacy, defiance, and the sacred power of self-expression.”
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Gustavo Lopes is a Brazilian-born photographer and visual artist based in Brooklyn. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and working as a fashion photographer in Brazil, Lopes has spent the past decade creating visual work that documents and advocates for NYC’s LGBTQ+ community on film, including the photobook Riis is Burning, and the solo exhibitions Corpos (2022) and Undocumented (2023) at Westlab + Gallery. In 2024, Lopes made his 16mm debut at Mono XVIII, the 18th Biennial Festival of Cinema Arts by Mono No Aware with the film Catarina.