米之家 (Mǐ zhī jiā): House of Rice Performances and Artist Talk

Please join us for performances by Shay Dior and Skim. Following the performances, they will be joined by members Haina Wan and Christian Jones for an artist talk.

In 米之家 (Mǐ zhī jiā), House of Rice imagines a world that combines the individual cultures and diverse traditions within their collective. Viewers are invited to explore the family’s combined past(s) through a mosaic of animated vignettes that take inspiration from the family’s blended identity, signaling to the natural environments and sacred paifang architectures rooted in Buddhism, the dancing brush strokes of paintings depicting Korean mythology, and the vibrancy of Vietnamese temples and shrines.

米之家 visually links drag performance with the group’s inherited aesthetic traditions, subverting the notion of tradition as static and in opposition to queer aesthetics. Looped to expand time beyond a linear concept, this work allows House of Rice to challenge complex intergenerational histories while also exploring an imagined future through a queer Asian lens.

More widely established as the first all Asian drag family in Canada, House of Rice is a collective of interdisciplinary artists with a shared goal of creating work that challenges societal expectations by merging Asian traditional culture with contemporary drag and storytelling. Founded by Shay Dior in 2018, House of Rice has since doubled in size, becoming role models for creative and artistic potential for the queer Asian community, especially in Vancouver.

House of Rice members:  Shay Dior, SKIM, Maiden China, Valak D’mon, Nikita Dior, Ploy Pailin, Jas Minh, Kara Juku, Bongganisa, Lulu Lomein.

Located outdoors in the campus’ southeastern plaza, the Urban Screen is a public art initiative of the City of Vancouver’s Public Art Program in partnership with Libby Leshgold Gallery at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.   

Offering 4–6 new commissions a year, the Urban Screen spotlights local and international artists and filmmakers working across diverse media disciplines of art, design, media, and technology. The screen operates daily from 8 AM–9 PM.