Local artist Tanisha McClain — also known as “Peachy Queen” — is a versatile talent with a wide variety of interests and skills. You can find her on the stage, behind the scenes, writing poetry, and even preparing gourmet meals and baked goods for special occasions and community events, among other things.
During the day, she routinely participates in various local vendor’s fairs and markets, and on special nights she can be found on stage bringing burlesque to life with her unique style and poetry. Regardless of the medium, McClain does her best to create as authentically as possible while fostering a safe space for everyone.
Meanwhile, the artist embraces activism, and even describes herself as an “artivist” — someone who uses their artistic talents to fight and struggle against injustice and oppression “by any medium necessary.”
Says McClain: “Putting yourself out there, creating art, and standing with your community is an act of resistance. Artivism is where you are standing to create a collective environment, where you are standing in solidarity with your fellow artists to create a better space for other artists, your community, and the world.”
Her inspiration to pursue the arts and work hard through challenging times comes from a youthful place where opportunity and a sense of community were sorely lacking.
“When I was younger, I didn’t have many outlets of expression,” she says. “I grew up fundamentalist in a way that was not healthy. Instead of being told that it is OK to cry, or that it is OK to feel your feelings, I was told to pray, and it would get better.
“The first type of art that I found when I was young was writing. We didn’t have a lot of money, but it didn’t take a lot to write compared to other types of art. It was the first way I had to express my feelings from inside my head and give it a voice through spoken word poetry.”
McClain went on to explain that this love of poetry then led into performance. Describing it as, “Healing myself while helping others.”
Additionally, McClain speaks of how the performing arts, primarily burlesque, serves as a method of escapism, not only for herself, but for the community that has begun to grow around her so-called “Peachy Keen” series of productions.
“It makes my heart really happy,” she says. “It feels really surreal. It feels really cool, knowing that something that started in my brain has become something that people speak about in a positive light.
“There are performers who have come to Merced, who didn’t think that they would have a good time and showed up as a personal favor, but then they actually loved the energy of the audience. They loved the town. They loved the people here. And that’s really rad.”
Currently, McClain has been hard at work promoting and preparing for her next production of “Peachy Queen’s Peachy Keen Burlesque and Variety Show” on Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Partisan in downtown Merced. Notably, this will be her ninth installment of this burlesque production here in downtown Merced. All of her previous shows were completely sold out well in advance, which seems will be the case with this one as well.
“I am really thankful for the Partisan for giving me a chance to try something out,” she says.
Tickets for the Oct. 19 show can be reserved via McClain’s Instagram account: @PeachyQueenYall, as well as online at: simpletix.com.