MANILA, Philippines — The Southeast Asia Queer Cultural Festival (SEAQCF) has returned for its second edition, bringing together artists, writers, and activists from across the region to celebrate queer art and cultural expression.

With the theme ImagiNATIONS, the festival aims to reimagine the region and its queer communities beyond borders, offering an expansive view of LGBTQIA+ life and creativity in Southeast Asia.

The festival showcases a diverse array of works from 17 zine and literature artists, 11 visual artists working in various mediums such as sculpture, digital illustration, painting, and photography, 16 short films by queer filmmakers, and 12 musical and performance art contributions.

Beyond artistic presentations, SEAQCF also features five roundtable discussions tackling the challenges and possibilities within art, culture, and community organizing, reinforcing the festival’s role as both a creative and political space.

“Queer existence has always been inherently political, as queer individuals must navigate unfriendly—even hostile—spaces in their daily lives,” said Sidhi Vhisatya, festival coordinator of SEAQCF. “In a time when queerness faces increasing hate, embracing diverse narratives and simply existing as queer becomes an act of resistance. Resistance, at its core, is a source of joy—one that deserves more space and collective effort to sustain.”

A major component of SEAQCF is its online exhibition, which remains accessible until this month, allowing both local and global audiences to engage with the featured works. Through this digital platform, the festival continues to foster reflection, creative resistance, and solidarity amid ongoing challenges faced by queer communities in the region.

Ryan Silverio, executive director of the ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, emphasized the role of artistic and cultural expressions in LGBTQIA+ activism.

“It is crucial that we both celebrate and support artistic and cultural expressions as integral in LGBTQIA+ activism,” said Silverio.

“Art is a multifaceted force that promotes visibility, facilitates community, and inspires joyful actions for social change. Art enables and emboldens us to exercise agency to disrupt societal norms, to strategically transform hate into joy, and to challenge traditional ideas about gender and sexuality,” Silverio said.

SEAQCF, which was initially launched in 2021 as a virtual festival due to pandemic restrictions, has since evolved into a hybrid event. Since October 2024, it has conducted in-person events in Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The culminating event took place in Quezon City on March 22, 2025.

Since its inception, SEAQCF has supported over 100 artists and cultural workers through funding and development grants. Organized by the ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, a regional organization focused on advancing the human rights of LGBTQIA+ persons in Southeast Asia, the festival serves as a platform for reclaiming, reimagining, and sustaining LGBTQIA+ existence in the region.

By fostering collective memory through art and activism, SEAQCF aims to challenge the erasure of LGBTQIA+ narratives and histories. As conservative actors and institutions continue to threaten queer visibility, the festival underscores the urgency of preserving and celebrating queer cultural memory in Southeast Asia.