# Justin Vivian Bond
**Justin Vivian Bond** (born 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, painter, and performance artist best known as co-creator, with Kenny Mellman, of the punk cabaret duo Kiki and Herb, in which Bond played the lounge singer Kiki DuRane to acclaim from the mid-1990s onward[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n98051636.html) • [2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond) • [3](https://www.justinvivianbond.com/). Bond prefers the gender-inclusive honorific Mx. and the pronoun "v" (with "vself"), adopted in 2011 alongside the middle name Vivian[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n98051636.html). In 2024 Bond was named a MacArthur Fellow[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n98051636.html) |
| Preferred name and pronouns | Justin Vivian Bond; honorific Mx.; pronoun "v"/"vself", adopted 2011[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n98051636.html) |
| Signature work | Kiki and Herb, the lounge-act duo with Kenny Mellman, from 1994; Carnegie Hall headline 2004[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond) • [4](https://www.chronogram.com/arts/justin-vivian-bond-named-macarthur-genius-22039730/) |
| Solo albums | Dendrophile (2011), Silver Wells (2012), Only an Octave Apart with Anthony Roth Costanzo (Decca, 2022)[5](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/) • [6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/) |
| Major awards | Obie (2000), Bessie (2004), Ethyl Eichelberger Award, Lambda Literary Award, FCA Grants to Artists (2012), MacArthur Fellowship (2024)[5](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/) • [6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/) • [2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond) |
| Writing | Memoir *Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels* (Feminist Press, 2011), Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction[5](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/) • [6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/) |
| Recent work | Jasmine and Cigarettes and Night Shade (2024); the opera Complications in Sue at Opera Philadelphia (February 2026)[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond) • [6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/) |
## Early life and education
Bond studied theater at [Adelphi University](https://www.edgepedia.org/adelphi-university) from 1981 to 1985, receiving a B.F.A. in 1985, and later earned an M.A. from Central Saint Martins College in London; the MacArthur Foundation dates the degree to 2005 and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts to 2006[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond) • [5](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/). Bond has taught composition and live art installation at New York University and [Bard College](https://www.edgepedia.org/bard-college)[7](https://live.mcachicago.org/about/who-we-are/artists/justin-vivian-bond).
## Kiki and Herb
Bond returned to New York in 1994 and relaunched Kiki and Herb with Kenny Mellman, playing shows at Cowgirl Hall of Fame and the [Knitting Factory](https://www.edgepedia.org/knitting-factory) and holding a weekly gig at Fez[4](https://www.chronogram.com/arts/justin-vivian-bond-named-macarthur-genius-22039730/). The MacArthur Foundation's citation credits the act, in which Bond played Kiki DuRane, with channeling communal grief during the AIDS epidemic[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond).
The duo's arc ran from downtown clubs to major halls. In 2000 they released their first album, the Christmas-themed *Do You Hear What We Hear?*, and in 2004 they headlined [Carnegie Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/carnegie-hall), a performance documented on *Kiki and Herb Die for You: Live at Carnegie Hall* (2005)[4](https://www.chronogram.com/arts/justin-vivian-bond-named-macarthur-genius-22039730/). *Kiki and Herb: Alive on Broadway* ran for five weeks in 2006[4](https://www.chronogram.com/arts/justin-vivian-bond-named-macarthur-genius-22039730/). By 2008 Bond and Mellman decided to retire the act, reuniting occasionally afterward[4](https://www.chronogram.com/arts/justin-vivian-bond-named-macarthur-genius-22039730/). Bond's official site lists a Tony nomination among their honors, without a year or production[3](https://www.justinvivianbond.com/).
## Solo music and recordings
Bond's solo recording career began while Kiki and Herb was still active: *Justin Bond is Close to You* appeared in 2007 and *Lustre* in 2008, followed by the live EP *Pink Slip* (2009)[4](https://www.chronogram.com/arts/justin-vivian-bond-named-macarthur-genius-22039730/). The debut CD *Dendrophile* was self-released on Bond's WhimsyMusic label in 2011, and *Silver Wells* followed in 2012 with support from a Foundation for Contemporary Arts grant[5](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/). Apple Music's discography lists *The Golden Age of Hustlers* on *Dendrophile* and a cover of Jobim's "Waters of March" on *Silver Wells*[8](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/justin-vivian-bond/424785951).
In 2022 Bond released *Only an Octave Apart* on [Decca Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/decca-records), a collaboration with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo produced by Thomas Bartlett with arrangements by Nico Muhly; the MacArthur citation describes the corresponding evening-length performance as combining elements of opera, avant-garde performance, and campy stage review[6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/) • [2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond). Critics have placed Bond in the downtown cabaret tradition: The New York Times called Bond "the shape-shifting chanteuse of the downtown cabaret scene"[9](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/fashion/justin-vivian-bond-turns-androgyny-into-high-art.html), and in a 2023 Guardian interview Bond described their voice as "kind of woody and full with a lot of vibration" and performing as a heightened version of themself, citing [Marianne Faithfull](https://www.edgepedia.org/marianne-faithfull) and women who defied gender expectations as influences[10](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/jul/03/cabaret-legend-justin-vivian-bond-when-i-sing-you-can-hear-the-drinks-and-cigarettes-ive-had).
## Stage, opera, and cabaret residencies
Bond has held a decades-long residency at Joe's Pub at the Public Theater in New York[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond) • [3](https://www.justinvivianbond.com/), and has performed at Carnegie Hall, the [Sydney Opera House](https://www.edgepedia.org/sydney-opera-house), and the Vienna Staatsoper[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond). In December 2019 Bond debuted at the Vienna Staatsoper in the world premiere of Olga Neuwirth's opera *Orlando*, playing Orlando's child[6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/).
Earlier stage work includes originating the role of Herculine Barbin in [Kate Bornstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-bornstein)'s play *Hidden: A Gender* (1991)[5](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/) and starring as Warhol superstar [Jackie Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-curtis) in Scott Wittman's *Jukebox Jackie: Snatches of Jackie Curtis* at La MaMa E.T.C. in 2012[5](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/). Bond's 2024 productions were *Jasmine and Cigarettes: Songs from the Hippy Counterculture*, which considered the history of protest and political action, and *Night Shade*, which celebrated LGBTQ+ Pride Month and the summer solstice[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond).
## Film, television, and writing
Bond's screen credits include [John Cameron Mitchell](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-cameron-mitchell)'s film *[Shortbus](https://www.edgepedia.org/shortbus)* (2006)[5](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/), the films *Can You Ever Forgive Me?* and *Sunset Stories*, and the television series *High Maintenance*, *[Difficult People](https://www.edgepedia.org/difficult-people)*, and *The Get Down*[6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/).
Bond's memoir *Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels* was published by The Feminist Press in 2011 and won the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction[5](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/) • [6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/).
## Awards and recognition
Bond received an Obie Award for *Kiki & Herb: Jesus Wept* (2000), a New York Dance and [Performance](https://www.edgepedia.org/performance) "Bessie" Choreographer/Creator Award for Kiki & Herb (2004), and the Ethyl Eichelberger Award, which the Foundation for Contemporary Arts dates to 2008 and Bond's official site to 2007[5](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/) • [3](https://www.justinvivianbond.com/). Further honors include the Peter Reed Foundation Grant (2011), a Grants to Artists award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts (2012), which partly funded *Silver Wells*, and the Art Matters Grant[5](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/) • [7](https://live.mcachicago.org/about/who-we-are/artists/justin-vivian-bond). In 2024 Bond was named a MacArthur Fellow[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond), and in 2025 Bard College awarded Bond an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts[6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/). Bond's artwork is held in the permanent collection of the [Victoria and Albert Museum](https://www.edgepedia.org/victoria-and-albert-museum)[6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/).
## Gender identity and trans advocacy
In 2011 Bond adopted the middle name Vivian, the honorific Mx. in place of Ms. or Mr., and the pronoun "v" (with "vself")[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n98051636.html). The New York Times, covering the change in 2012, described it as an act of semantic self-determination[9](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/fashion/justin-vivian-bond-turns-androgyny-into-high-art.html). Bond has publicly described themself as transgender, saying "I always thought of myself as a transgendered person" and that they lived their life without "the exact language for what I was"[9](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/fashion/justin-vivian-bond-turns-androgyny-into-high-art.html). On their own site, Bond writes that pretending to be a woman would be as false as the long-performed role of being a man, and asks to have their truth respected[3](https://www.justinvivianbond.com/). The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago describes Bond as having been at the forefront of trans visibility and activism since the early 1990s[7](https://live.mcachicago.org/about/who-we-are/artists/justin-vivian-bond), and the MacArthur Foundation's citation calls Bond "a pioneer of queer performance" whose practice centers queer joy and community[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond).
## What has changed since 2023
The MacArthur Fellowship came in 2024[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond), followed by the 2024 productions *Jasmine and Cigarettes* and *Night Shade*[2](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond) and the Bard honorary doctorate in 2025[6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/). In February 2026 Bond appeared in *Complications in Sue*, a new opera commissioned by Opera Philadelphia, conceived by Bond with a libretto by the Tony Award-winning writer Michael R. Jackson[6](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/). A live recording of the work, *Complications In Sue (Live)*, a 22-song album, is listed with a release date of August 21, 2026[8](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/justin-vivian-bond/424785951).
## References
1. [Bond, Justin Vivian, 1963-, Library of Congress authority record](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n98051636.html)
2. [Justin Vivian Bond, MacArthur Foundation, Class of 2024](https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2024/justin-vivian-bond)
3. [Mx Justin Vivian Bond, official site](https://www.justinvivianbond.com/)
4. [Justin Vivian Bond Named MacArthur "Genius", Chronogram](https://www.chronogram.com/arts/justin-vivian-bond-named-macarthur-genius-22039730/)
5. [Justin Vivian Bond, Foundation for Contemporary Arts grant recipient record](https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/justin-vivian-bond/)
6. [Justin Vivian Bond, Fisher Center at Bard](https://fishercenter.bard.edu/series/jvb-2026/)
7. [Justin Vivian Bond, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago](https://live.mcachicago.org/about/who-we-are/artists/justin-vivian-bond)
8. [Justin Vivian Bond, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/justin-vivian-bond/424785951)
9. [Justin Vivian Bond Turns Androgyny Into High Art, The New York Times (2012)](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/fashion/justin-vivian-bond-turns-androgyny-into-high-art.html)
10. [Cabaret legend Justin Vivian Bond interview, The Guardian (July 2023)](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/jul/03/cabaret-legend-justin-vivian-bond-when-i-sing-you-can-hear-the-drinks-and-cigarettes-ive-had)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › Indie and alternative pop, 1990s and 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license