San Diego Pride held a Queer/Trans Asian, Pacific Islander (QTAPI) week from May 28 to June 3, celebrating the end of API heritage month and the beginning of Pride month. QAPIMEDA, the coalition of LGBTQ+ people with ancestry from across Asia, held an event each day of the special week.

“End of May to the beginning of June is a perfect intersection for QTAPI (Queer Trans Asian Pacific Islanders) week because May is an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and June is an International Pride Month,” said Kevin Lee, QAPIMEDA (Queer Asian Pacific Islander Middle Eastern Desi American Coalition) Chair.

Rainbow Canvas

1 of 5

- +

1. Artist Jin Zeng works on a poster about trans rights that will be carried during the Pride Parade.

2. Attendees of the Rainbow Canvas event during QTAPI week created posters and decorations for July’s Pride celebration.

3. Four API artists had their art on display in the Pride offices during QTAPI week.

4. Four API artists had their art on display in the Pride offices during QTAPI week.

5. Rainbow Canvas was held at the Pride office. (Photos by Juri Kim)

One of the QTAPI week events was “Rainbow Canvas,” which happened on Wednesday, May 31, at the San Diego Pride office. At this event, four artists, Chris Mok, Angel Angeles, Jackie Han and Jin Zeng exhibited their artwork. Participants also had time to make their own poster artwork ahead of the Pride Parade and decorations for the Pan-Asian Night Market inside the San Diego Pride Festival.

Phoenix A’blaze, who is part of QAPIMEDA’s entertainment department, explained that their vision is to make space for people to express themselves through art. The pieces they created had important messages about trans joy and API inclusion. Moreover, designing pieces is expected to produce a positive therapeutic effect on people.

The day before Rainbow Canvas, QAPIMEDA held a “Queering API History” event and discussed their past, and as an extension, envisioned the future of QTAPI at the event. It was a meaningful time to think about themselves more.

San Diego Pride is eager to “foster pride, equality, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities locally, nationally, and globally” by not only celebrating their identities but also affirming their shared resilience in the face of adversity. Pride is moving forward through events like this, which make it easier to build communities and for people to gather together.

The Pan-Asian Night Market at the San Diego Pride Festival will be open on July 15-16 with queer and trans Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern and Desi American DJs, drag performers, and dancers taking the stage.

According to Fernando López, Executive Director of San Diego Pride, diverse LQBTQ+ artists are prepared to perform and counter hate by being full of joy and love. “From the vibrant urban feminism of nonbinary bisexual artist Princess Nokia to the door-opening queer charisma of Saucy Santana, we see reflections of our diverse and strong community.” They added that other performers’ activism “further demonstrate the power of representation and the necessity of giving a platform to these critical conversations.”