Kohl Gallery

John Jarboe (she/her) is a director, producer, writer, performer, visual artist, and the founding artistic director of The Bearded Ladies Cabaret.  After receiving a BA and a BFA in English and Theater from the University of Michigan, Jarboe moved to Philadelphia, where in the past 15 years she has created and performed work for organizations including The Wilma Theater, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Horticultural Society, FringeArts, and Opera Philadelphia. She and her company The Bearded Ladies gained notoriety for their annual Bastille Day show at Eastern State Penitentiary, which grew under her writing and directing from a street festival to an hour-long performance attended by over 10,000 people by 2018. Jarboe has received a 2013 Independence Fellowship, was named best drag performer in Philadelphia (2018) by Philadelphia Magazine and is a 2022 Transformation Grant awardee (The Leeway Foundation ). Outside of Philadelphia she has toured original work to Miami, Seattle (Seattle Symphony) France, Poland, New Zealand (Performance Arcade), and Australia (Malthouse Theater). She has also written, performed, and directed original work for La Mama ETC, Joe’s Pub, Lincoln Center's American Songbook Series, and The Guggenheim's Works & Process series. She has written for and directed original cabarets for famed opera star Anthony Roth Costanzo and is the drag doula of Stephanie Blythe. Jarboe's original performance piece Rose: You Are Who You Eat, commissioned by Works and Process, had a rolling world premiere at FringeArts in fall 2023, La MaMa January 2024, and  Woolly Mammoth in June 2024. She was also a resident artist at The Fabric Workshop and Museum and debuted her first installation of films and objects called The Rose Garden in May of 2024. See her upcoming work at www.beardedladiescabaret.com and @johnjarbeaux on instagram.

This unique exhibition, accompanying theater performance, and public programming was created through collaboration among the Kohl Gallery, The Rose O’Neill Literary House, The Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, and the Washington College Department of Theater and Dance. The Rose Garden Green Room exhibition and public program has been made possible by The Maryland State Arts Council, The Hedgelawn Foundation, The Kent Cultural Alliance, and The William James Fund. 

The Rose Garden Green Room was originally conceived and created by John Jarboe in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, and then exhibited in Washington, D.C. by Cultural D.C.