Queer Asian Pride Ireland to host first Open Mic event

Asian artists in Ireland will share their creative journeys at this free event.

Community . Written by Nicole Lee.

Queer Asian Pride Ireland (QAPI) is hosting an Open Mic night on November 18 at the Outhouse featuring Venus Patel and Lee-Loi Chieng.
Image: Instagram @queerasianpride.ie

Queer Asian Pride Ireland (QAPI) has announced its first public Open Mic night to be held on November 18, 2022 at Outhouse Theatre from 6.30 to 8.00pm.

This free event is an ideal opportunity for queer creators in the community to come together and learn about the creative journeys of talented local artists. This month’s event features two incredible LGBTQ+ filmmakers, Venus Patel (she/they) and Lee-Loi Chieng (he/him).

Venus is an experimental film and performance artist from Los Angeles, California. With a BA in Fine Art from TU Dublin, she uses her theatre and film background to describe her experiences navigating the world as a Trans femme of colour. Through her work, she questions the heteronormative society we live in and explores how the need to conform impacts our perceptions of ourselves and others.

Venus infuses a unique mix of humour, absurdity, and abjection into her work. She recently collaborated in the production of Privilege: The Musical (2022), and Hive City Legacy: Dublin (2022). Her experimental short film Eggshells was selected for the Gaze International Film Festival and won the Taylor Art Award at the RDS Visual Art Awards.

Lee-Loi is an Irish Chinese Malaysian gay artist and filmmaker from Kildare, Ireland. With a passion for the tech industry, he began working on the production of YouTube Tech videos when he was only 12 years-old.

Lee strongly supports Trans visibility in his work and recently earned funding to produce a Transgender theme short film called Where It All Began. He’s currently developing a Queer Comedy Drama TV Series called I’m The Boss, and his award-winning queer rom-com Meeting His Parents (2021) premiered at the IndieCork film festival in Ireland.

Throughout the evening, immigrant queer artists, writers, and makers living in Ireland will speak about their work and creative processes. Potential discussion topics include:

  • Art for examining, questioning, and criticising the relationships between gender and society
  • The intersection of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status and art
  • The significance of cultural belonging and community support in the creative process
  • The importance of institutional support and equal opportunities for marginalised groups

Filmmaker and co-founder of QAPI, Pradeep Mahadeshwar, (he/they) is hosting the event. Their documentary, Tír na mBeo – The land of the living, was recently screened at the Outhouse Theatre, and his short film The Concept Of Self was featured during the 30th GAZE International LGBTQ+ Film Festival and the 10th anniversary of the IndieCork Film Festival 2022.

Queer Asian Pride Ireland is a space for queer Asian folks living in Ireland to make meaningful connections, share knowledge, and embrace their cultural identities. The Open Mic with QAPI is free to attend, with full information availalb through Outhouse.

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