House of Rice  米之家 (Mǐ zhī jiā) | Urban Screen

In 米之家 (Mǐ zhī jiā), House of Rice imagines a world that combines the individual cultures and diverse traditions within their collective of queer artists widely known as the first Asian drag family.

As a drag family and artist collective, House of Rice holds members from Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, and Laotian identity. The title 米之家 comes from an ancient Chinese translation of House of Rice as many of their cultural traditions, rituals, and folklore have shared influences rooted in Chinese myths. Viewers are invited to explore the family’s combined past(s) through a mosaic of animated vignettes. Illustrated scenes by House of Rice’s Romeo Villanueva III, 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. In 米之家 , The House of Rice visually links drag performance with the group's inherited aesthetic traditions, subverting the notion of tradition as static and in opposition to queer aesthetics.

Through a transformative glitch, we see the family metamorphose into futuristic avatars adorned in silver armor floating within a digital dreamscape. The 3D renderings by Haina Wan, speak to the future of House of Rice. 米之家 ls looped to expand time beyond a linear concept, allowing them to challenge complex intergenerational histories while also exploring an imagined future through a queer Asian lens.

Commissioned for the ECU Urban Screen, and generously supported by BC Arts Council, 米之家 plays with traditional and digital art styles to take the audience through the past and future of a world created by the House of Rice.

Stay tuned for updates about programming related to 米之家.

Biography:

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

Directors: Romi Kim, Christian Yves Jones
Assistant Director: Van Dang
Producer: Van Dang
Assistant Producer: Romi Kim
Cinematographer: Christian Yves Jones
Editor: Christian Jones, Romi Kim
Animators: Romi Kim, Christian Yves Jones
Illustrator: Romeo Villaneuva III
3D rendering: Haina Wan

Special Thanks to BC Arts Council, Individual Arts Grant; William Canero, Grant Application Support; Emily Carr University Film + Screen Arts Department; and Troy Johnson, Libby Leshgold Gallery.

The Urban Screen, located on the north-east wall of the Wilson Arts Plaza, is an initiative of the City of Vancouver’s Public Art Program in conjunction with the Libby Leshgold Gallery at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. The screen operates daily from 8am-9pm.

The Libby Leshgold Gallery respectfully acknowledges that we are located on the unceded, traditional and ancestral xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories.