On Saturday, June 28th, join us for a night of mixed performances with the aim of creating a fun, energetic vibe. In it, we will be hosting performers, and visual artists from a multitude of backgrounds in the Progress Lab studio in East Vancouver. This free event will celebrate Multiculturalism Day the best way we know how, by throwing a party for our community and showcasing some amazing artists.
Tickets are free and food will be provided. Just bring yourself, some cash or card for the bar and your good vibes. We hope to see you there and to have you smiling so big it hurts!
The Performers
-
Photo and bio to come!
-
Nyla Bedard (Tahltan, Kaska, French, Scottish) is a multifaceted performing artist currently residing in North Vancouver, BC. She’s an actor, powwow dancer and an elder millennial mom of two. As a theatre artist, Nyla has performed her solo show Dissection of a... Mixed Heritage Woman at the Victoria and Vancouver Fringe Festival in 2019. She's currently working on a second solo show and trying out stand out comedy cause adding another thing on top of everything else she does seemed a good ADHD idea.
-
Photo and bio to come!
-
Shay Dior is a Vietnamese-Canadian drag luminary whose aesthetic channels both King and Queen drag elements into a harmonious body of gender fluidity. Their artistry celebrates the complex mosaic of queer identity and Asian cultures by weaving traditional ideas and drag artistry into performance art. Often referred to as the mother of Asian drag in Vancouver, they can be found sharing their art and performing in drag at various venue spaces, not only locally, but also internationally. Shay's dedication to amplifying queer Asians voices led to the formation of the House of Rice, Canada's first all Asian drag family, as well as Ricecake Events, an organization made for and by the queer Asian community. These have been instrumental in the empowerment and liberation of the queer Asian community, a shift that paved the way for other QTBIPOC-centred events that enriched the LGBTQ+ scene in Vancouver.
-
김새로미, Romi Kim or SKIM in drag, is an interdisciplinary artist currently living on the unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Sel̓íl̓witulh Nations. Kim is a nonbinary trans-masc second-generation Korean lesbian. They identify themselves in using these words as verbs rather than nouns or adjectives—constantly in action, and in flux. Their artistic practice is explored through an interdisciplinary approach and intersectional feminist queer theory. Kim has shown works in Seoul, South Korea -Ani-seed Festival and Space 55; the United Kingdom -Queer Asia Festival; Edmonton, Canada -The Works Art and Design Festival and Vancouver -Vines Festival, the Polygon Art gallery and SUM gallery. SKIM is an active member of the House of Rice and produces his own Drag King show called King Sized. They have been a part of producing and performing in various theatre shows such as The Transform Festival's Opening Bash, The Cultch Theatre, The ReVolver Festival, and The Array.
-
Photo and bio to come!
-
Sophia Mai Wolfe (she/her) is a Japanese-Canadian independent artist whose evolving practice spans live performance, videography, curation, filmmaking, and directing. She is a grateful guest of what is colonially known as Vancouver on Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She has performed and toured internationally with Company 605, Co-Erasga, Cindy Mochizuki, Zahra Shahab Niall McNeill as well as others. She holds an MA in Screendance from the London Contemporary Dance School (2022) and is the founder and Organizational Director of Recorded Movement Society, home to F-O-R-M (Festival Of Recorded Movement). Sophia collaborates with artists and communities to create work that moves audiences through embodied and imaginative experiences.
Photo by David Cooper
-
Leo D.E Johnson's music is a transcendent blend of Spiritual Soul and Galactic Gospel, infused with gritty West Coast Grunge and a Rock 'n' Roll kick that lifts listeners to higher realms of consciousness, while their powerful storytelling channels themes of resilience, their Black Trans experience, and self-discovery rooted in their expression; exuding a magnetic on-stage presence and unwavering passion, they fearlessly push musical boundaries as a fierce advocate for LGBTQ+ Trans rights and racial equality, all while radiating a joyful energy that speaks to the soul and harmoniously aligns with their mission of spreading love, acceptance, and unity through the power of music—so sit back and enjoy the reflection!
The Visual Artists
-
Kiana Hipolito is an interdisciplinary artist, illustrator and graphic designer from Vancouver, on the unceded Coast Salish Territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Kiana obtained her BFA in illustration from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2018, which includes her studies at Falmouth University (United Kingdom) in 2017. She currently works as a social media coordinator at the Richmond Art Gallery as well as a graphic designer at Canadian Art Prints and Winn Devon Group Inc. in addition to her art and design practices. Kiana’s use of texture and colour within her work often narrates themes of (mis)communication, cultural identity and shared diasporic experience observed in communities present in North America.
@hipolitokiana
-
Jasper Berehulke (he/him) is a two-spirit, transgender artist from the syilx Okanagan territory, whose creative practice and advocacy focus on identity, cultural reclamation, and community building. Growing up in the Okanagan, Jasper dedicated himself to creating safe and inclusive spaces for queer youth, fostering a sense of community and belonging that continues to influence his work today. He now works in museums as an advocate for Indigenous communities in Vancouver.
Instagram: @shrimp,jpegs
Website: jasperberehulke.com
Technical Director & Photographer
-
Jack (He/Him) is a Technical Director and Sound/Video Designer who originates from the UK, now living in Vancouver. He has worked all across the UK and now designs on the ancestral and stolen lands of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh nations. Select TD/design credits include: Theatre Conspiracy (Himmat), Rice and Beans Theatre (Peace Country), Pi Theatre / Seizieme Theatre (Polygraph), Rumble Theatre (Las Pasiones de Don Pasquale, Chochito Rey, A Tavola), Axis Theatre (Where Have All the Buffalo Gone), Douglas College (Jane Austen Action Figure; Orlando; Mad Forest), Vancouver Opera (The Pearl Fishers)
-
Kimberly Ho 何文蔚 is a filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist, based on so-called "Vancouver". Growing up in a working class immigrant family, Kimberly’s work is nourished by collaborative processes and organically aims to be non-hierarchical. In their artistic practice, they seek to explore their Hakka diaspora through the physical body & food culture, framing new media as a dimension of queer futurisms, and immersive art as a site of liberation. They are a co-host and co-producer of season 4 "Pride: The LGBTQ+ History Series" with OUTtv, for which they were nominated for Best Host, Web Program or Series at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards.
Upcoming: FOREIGN | FUTURES, a multidisciplinary theatre performance created with Stephanie Wong that explores sci-fi tropes to reimagine the evolving queer Chinese diasporic identity, and the expansive futures we might belong to, at What Lab in July 2025.
Thank Yous
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canadian Department of Heritage, as well as all of our rice & beans donors and community, all without whom this event would not be possible.
