SEAQCF
The Southeast Asia Queer Cultural Festival (SEAQCF) aims to cultivate and nurture the collective memories of LGBTQIAN+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual/aromantic, and non-binary) individuals in ASEAN. This festival contributes to the blossoming of cultural activism in the LGBTQIAN+ movement in Southeast Asia. Presented by the ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, SEAQCF brings together queer artists, cultural practitioners, writers, and community organizers to discuss contemporary issues and celebrate the lives of queer communities in Southeast Asia.
In its first edition in 2021, SEAQCF featured 43 artworks in audio, visual, and video formats, including poetry slams, photo exhibitions, film screenings, and drag shows. These were presented in 14 live online events, all held virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions.
In 2024, The SEAQCF returns for its 2.0 edition. We aim to extend our online exhibition and collaborate with community organizers to celebrate in person in their home countries. If you are a queer artist, cultural practitioner, writer, or community organizer, it's time to join SEAQCF 2.0: ImagiNATIONS. Answer our open call and be a part of our upcoming festival!
Navigation:
Theme, Sub-Theme, Submission Guidelines, Meet Our Team, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
About 2.0 Theme: ImagiNATIONS
Too often, modern nation-states have failed the peoples of Southeast Asia. Governments across the political spectrum have used their power to oppress those on the margins—especially LGBTQIAN+ individuals and communities—instead of granting us the protection and dignity we deserve. As a result, we are left to navigate an ever-shrinking civic space due to ongoing discrimination.
This is why, for this festival, we call upon fellow queers to imagine new nations and communities: societies that sustain us and celebrate our existence. What histories can we share about how we thrived in the past? What collectives do activists build in the present? How can we—the queer activists—work for a more sustainable environment, a safer future? And what queer utopias can artists dream up to inspire our current realities?
Together, we weave a vibrant tapestry woven from the rich arts and cultural expressions of Southeast Asia's diverse queer communities. We celebrate identities that transcend borders and shatter biases, fostering unity and sustainability, respect for all in democratic space. With our imaginations, we plant the seeds for a more caring, more inclusive tomorrow.
Sub-Theme
To facilitate discussions around the concept of ImagiNATIONS and provide a framework for potential topics, we have identified several key sub-themes to guide our exploration. They serve as a roadmap for our conversations, ensuring a comprehensive and focused approach to imagining and building new, supportive societies. The sub-themes include:
1. Resisting Boundaries: Building Queer Resilience Amidst Shrinking Spaces
The LGBTQIAN+ community in Southeast Asia faces significant challenges and restrictions on their identities and freedoms. This sub-theme explores how the community builds resilience to thrive and push back against these limitations.
2. Decolonizing Our Stories: Unearthing the Voices of Southeast Asia's LGBTQIAN+ Past
Focusing on the impact of colonialism and imagination of a modern nation state in erasing or distorting the histories of Southeast Asian LGBTQIAN+ communities. This sub-theme emphasizes the importance of reclaiming queer narratives from a decolonial perspective.
3. Collective Care, Collective Joy
Emphasizing the importance of creating a system of care and support, this theme underscores how activism thrives on community members supporting each other. Celebrating our community reaffirms our collective identity and resilience, transforming resistance into a celebration of who we are, and our collective wellbeing within the spaces we create together.
4. Queering Our Way to Environmental Justice
This sub-theme presents a unique and thought-provoking approach to environmental activism, advocating for a more inclusive and effective environmental movement that leverages the strengths and perspectives of LGBTQIAN+ individuals in Southeast Asia.
5. Fostering Regional Solidarity and Intersectionality
Promoting and fostering regional solidarity actions through an intersectional lens, this sub-theme aims to create a more powerful and inclusive movement for LGBTQIAN+ rights in Southeast Asia, ensuring that no group is isolated in the fight for a just and equal future.
Submission Guidelines
Are you a community organizer working on a project that highlights marginalized histories or envisions a more caring and inclusive future? We invite you to collaborate with us for SEAQCF 2.0: ImagiNATIONS. This open call seeks community organizers to partner with us in bringing SEAQCF 2.0: ImagiNATIONS to your country. Together, we will showcase featured works from SEAQCF 2.0 or co-create programs tailored to your community, aligning with the themes of ImagiNATIONS. We are looking for community organizers who meet the following criteria:
- Based in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Thailand, or Vietnam.
- Legally registered.
- Have experience in creating or collaborating on projects, whether for personal, professional, or community purposes.
- This is a sub-grant program. Selected organizers will be required to provide a detailed narrative and budget report for the proposed activities.
- Each community organizer can select from SEAQCF’s program offerings—such as zine workshops, film screenings, discussions, or art exhibitions—or develop their own programs that resonate with their community and align with SEAQCF 2.0’s theme: ImagiNATIONS.
- SEAQCF offers funding of up to $2,000 for each selected community organizer.
- Activities must take place between December 2024 and February 2025.
- Fill the Community Organizers Open Call via THIS LINK.
- Download the PDF guidelines HERE.
Are you a community organizer working on a project that highlights marginalized histories or envisions a more caring and inclusive future? We invite you to collaborate with us for SEAQCF 2.0: ImagiNATIONS. This open call seeks community organizers to partner with us in bringing SEAQCF 2.0: ImagiNATIONS to your country. Together, we will showcase featured works from SEAQCF 2.0 or co-create programs tailored to your community, aligning with the themes of ImagiNATIONS.
Important Dates
SEAQCF 2.0: The ImagiNATIONS exhibition and programs will start from December 2024 to February 2025.
To apply, please submit your express of interest through our online submission form. This will include a series of questions and a required set of materials (portfolio, concept sketches/final work, etc) that requires you to sign in to a google account for submission purpose.
Feel free to contact us at coordinator.seaqcf@gmail.com if you have any inquiries.
Meet Our Team
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What artistic and cultural practices does the festival accept?
Queer artists, artivists, cultural practitioners, writers, and community organizers are encouraged to participate in the SEAQCF 2.0 exhibition. We welcome a diverse range of digital or digitizable artworks including illustrations, songs, photography, performances, films, zines, games, poetry, short stories, comics, and more.
2. How is the festival going to present the selected works?
This year, we will feature both online and in-person programs. The online exhibition will be showcased on our seaqcf.net platform, while in-person programs will take place across six countries: Indonesia, Cambodia, The Philippines, Timor Leste, Malaysia, and Thailand. Selected works from each country may also be exhibited during the in-person exhibitions along with other invited artists.
3. How is the festival going to organize the in-person programs?
The festival team and advisory members will develop program options for an in-person festival across six countries: Indonesia, Cambodia, The Philippines, Timor Leste, Malaysia, and Thailand. In October, we will issue an open call inviting community organizers from these countries to collaborate with us in coordinating the in-person programs.
4. Can I join as part of a collective?
Yes, you are welcome to join with your collective. On the submission form, please list and describe your collective.
5. Can my applications written in a language different than English?
You are welcome to write the application in your national language.
6. Do the events need to be in English?
The event doesn’t need to be exclusively in English. However, our movie submissions feature a wide range of languages. SEAQCF can only provide original files that include English subtitles.
7. Can I initiate a collaborative project inviting artists/writers/cultural practitioners from Southeast Asia to work on something new?
Absolutely! You’re welcome to start collaborative projects. Just keep in mind that SEAQCF can provide a maximum budget of $2,000 for each country,
8. What if our Organization is not registered?
You can work with or collaborate with a legally registered local organization as your Financial/Fiscal Host or as a partner for the event.
9. What is the selection criteria?
We are seeking a community organizer to help engage the local community with SEAQCF's featured works. Proposals will be evaluated based on the clarity of target audience, timeline, programming, and the alignment of the budget with the available grant.
10. When is the Festival and what programs you will have?
SEAQCF 2.0: The ImagiNATIONS exhibition and programs will run from December 2024 to February 2025.
11. What does portfolio mean here? If I apply as a collective, what kind of portfolio should we submit?
A portfolio is a record of your past activities or work, both public and personal, from at least the past year. For collectives, you can mention your activities as a collective or compile the past works of your collective members in a document.
12. How do I propose the budget?
In the downloadable PDF file, you’ll find a list of offerings from SEAQCF. You can select one or combine multiple programs. SEAQCF will provide technical assistance for each program. For individual event proposals, refer to the maximum budget outlined per program. For combined events, please use a maximum budget of $2,000 in your proposal. Be sure to detail how you plan to allocate the budget.
13. Are there any restrictions on how we should spend the proposed budget?
No, there are no restrictions as long as the spending is related to the proposed project or work. This falls under a sub-grant arrangement, so please remember that a narrative and financial report will be required.
14. What if I involve individuals below 18 in this project?
As per ASEAN SOGIE Caucus' child rights standards, the project initiator/artists/cultural practitioners/writers must obtain consent from the guardians of any participants under 18.
15. What if I’m not from Southeast Asia?
This festival is designed to discuss and explore Southeast Asian queer lives and experiences. If you are not a Southeast Asian living in or outside Southeast Asia, you are not eligible to apply.
16. What do you mean by Southeast Asians and Southeast Asians who live outside the region?
This identity is not restricted to citizenship; we acknowledge that some Southeast Asians may not be registered in Southeast Asian countries for various reasons. We recognize that some Southeast Asians seek refuge in other regions due to political climates, or are studying abroad, etc.