The artists will share music and dance compositions, poems, and paintings to showcase how queerness has always been a part of South Asian culture and what can be done to interpret stories and narratives around us from a queer lens. 

They will pose many questions, such as “Have you ever thought of which love story is most celebrated in the South Asian subcontinent?” “Does it follow all the rules of wedlock, caste, marriage, or heteronormativity as one is prescribed to follow in today’s world?”

The West did not introduce the idea of queerness in South Asia. There has always been a strong queer presence in our heritage. But it is not sufficient to embrace queer South Asians as just history, it is time to create an awareness of the long history of queer South Asian art spaces and reclaim its place in South Asian American arts and culture.

Performers Include: 

Speaker/Hostess: Bhargavi Thakur

Musicians: Bhargavi Thakur, Vocalist; Randall Jamrok, Tabla; Dr. Sonny Patel, Bansuri Flute

Dancers: Colin Mascarenhas, Odissi Dance; Devika Dhir, Kathak Dance