LGBTQ+ AAPI Week of Visibility 2023
LGBTQ+ AAPI Day of Visibility
On June 1, 2019, we launched and celebrated LGBTQ+ AAPI Day of Visibility. Kicking off with proclamations from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Pittsburgh, we also launched a digital campaign and toolkit that featured LGBTQ+ AAPI media, icons, statistics, and resources, as well as encouraged LGBTQ+ AAPIs to share their experiences and tell their stories via social media.
See our instagram for more details on all of our events!
“Being Queen is My Resistance: Lessons in Drag Mythology and Migration” is a cabaret-style, one-person show that blends storytelling, drag performance, dance, and video to weave together milestones in KaMani Sutra’s story of discovering their femininity while being an adult immigrant to the United States. This autobiographical multimedia program contrasts the freedom to express their true self in a foreign land with aesthetics and inspirations rooted in the richness of Indian drag. Interspersed with short performances and (consensual!) audience participation, KaMani Sutra’s lecture-performance-workshop challenges the myths of the model minority, binary gender, and colonizer saviorship. It is a celebration of intergenerational queerness, LGBTQ+ community, saris, mujras, divine femininity, and self-love.
KaMani Sutra will be giving this workshop, hosted by Rangoli Pittsburgh, at Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation at their East Liberty office (421 N Highland Ave. Pgh 15206) on Saturday June 3rd from 5-7pm, as part of Rangoli’s LGBTQ+ AAPI Day of Visibility celebrations.
JALEBI BABY! Join Rangoli Pittsburgh and FORMOSA for Pittsburgh’s first Desi Gaysi Dance Party!! Come celebrate the 5th anniversary of Queer AAPI visibility week with us by dressing up and dancing the night away to your favorite South Asian film hits, with drag performances by local South Asian kings and queens!!
Hosted by FORMOSA and Rangoli Pittsburgh Saturday June 2nd 10pm-2am at Cobra PGH.
Tickets are $10 presale and $12 at the door and will be available at the door and through Cobra! Proceeds will go to the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center, our amazing cast of performers, our DJ, and to future Rangoli events!
At 11pm we will have a series of drag performances, featuring local performers Agni Paradise and Apsara and all the way from Washington D.C., the iconic KaMani Sutra!
While supplies last, we will be providing bangles and temporary tattoos of Henna/Mehendi designs for guests.
On June 1st of 2019, Rangoli Pittsburgh introduced LGBTQ+ AAPI Day of Visibility, and it’s since been recognized for 5 years in a row by official proclamation from both Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania. For the past five years, it’s been a day of celebration and of visibility for this unique intersection of identities, right in between Asian American Heritage Month and Pride Month.
On June 1st, Rangoli PGH [and JADED?] will celebrate the FIFTH ANNIVERSARY of LGBTQ+ AAPI Day of Visibility with a potluck picnic! We invite you to party with us to celebrate this anniversary of this unique intersection of identities - bring a dish and bring a friend!
