QACON

Hello community!

We hope you’re doing well in these trying times. We’re here with an announcement.

As you may have guessed or heard, QACON 2020 is not going to happen.

We were too short-staffed last year, and just weren't able to muster up enough folks to continue this year. Coupled with the current public health crisis, means we’ll be on hiatus for at least the rest of the 2019-20 academic year.

Our hope is that we will pick up again next year with QACON’21, with no further interruptions.

As always, we’re taking questions, concerns, and suggestions at [email protected]. If you are interested in being a part of our planning process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at the same email!

Please stay safe!

Much love,

Kellyann & Aaron
QACON’19 co-chairs

Hello, wonderful community!

We need your opinion on the future of this conference.

As you likely know, QACON requires dedicated management in order to ensure a streamlined planning process. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to locate co-chair candidates for QACON'20, and our pool of committee members is also on the smaller side this year.

We believe it is in the best interest of the conference to take a year to step back and focus on refining documentation instead of pushing a small committee to overexert themselves, but we think it's important to have community feedback on this as well.

If you have 1-3 minutes and want to have a say in the future of our conference, please fill out the link here:

https://forms.gle/4DZhgprx6MNLH8B28

Thank you very much for your help and perspectives!

As always, please direct questions and concerns to [email protected]

Hello, beautiful community!

We're back with a message from Toshio Asai, a doctoral candidate studying gay Asian immigrants in the Greater SF area:

Hello!

My name is Toshio Asai, and I am working on my dissertation to understand the unique challenges and resilience demonstrated by the first-generation gay Asian immigrants who reside in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. We hope you consider helping with our study.

You are eligible for this study if:

(1) You were born outside of the United States
(2) You are an Asian gay man who is at least 18 years of age
(3) You have been living in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area for at least past 6 months
(4) You are able to complete this survey in English

If you satisfy the condition and would like to help, please participate in our study. This online survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Upon the completion of this online study, you will have a chance to win one of ten $30 Amazon eGift Cards.

This research has been fully approved through the Institutional Review Board at Northern Arizona University (IRB #1358470-1).

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you are interested in this study, please click on the link below to read more about the project in the online consent form. If the hyperlink is disabled, please copy and paste the following link to your internet browser.

http://nau.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_esN5fy3Q2Yzi98h

Please feel free to contact me ([email protected]) or Dr. Y. Evie Garcia ([email protected]) with any questions, comments, or suggestions.

Best Regards,
Tosh(io) Asai Ed.S., M.S.

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Hello, beautiful community!

A very large thank you to everyone who made it to QACON' 19 for an excellent conference weekend! The attendance of the community is instrumental in making this conference successful, and we hope it brought you some measure of joy, community, or inspiration.

Have a wonderful year! See you May 8th - 10th for QACON' 20!!

Hello beautiful community!!

We're running low on breakfast foods, and will be ending brunch at 12:30pm rather than 2:00pm.

Thank you for a most wonderful conference weekend! We hope to see you next year at QACON '20!!

Hello, wonderful community!

Thank you all for attending the conference today - please come join us for the post-conference social at Spat's Berkeley (1974 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704), starting at 10:00pm tonight!

Make sure to bring your wristbands to be admitted!

Hello, community!

Heads up, you can keep up with important conference events and updates by texting to (801) 657-3595 to join our QACON'19 Remind system!

Post-Opening Night board games are happening in Eshleman 212, now through 9:30pm!

Hello community--

Due to a scheduling hiccup, Opening Night performances will actually begin tonight at 5:30PM.

Early registration is still starting at 5:00PM, feel free to show up then and mingle with fellow conference attendees. And, if you can't make it to Hearst Field Annex A1 right at 5:30PM, never fear -- it's no trouble for folks to walk in between performances!

As always, feel free to message us or email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or concerns.

See y'all in three(!) hours!

There 's only 1 (ONE!) more day until QACON '19 and we'd like to round off our performer's by showing y'all two more! We will have one more performer, but you'll have to come to Opening Night to find out!

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Meet Cal Raijin Taiko! A part of the UC Berkeley since 2005, this group of roughly twenty members is highly committed to practicing the art of taiko and sharing the culture of taiko with the community as the only Taiko group on campus!

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Meet Miss Shu Mai, a 2nd-generation Chinese/Taiwanese American drag performer that is currently Miss GAPA!

Come see them and our secret performer on Friday night, May 3rd, at Hearst Field Annex A1, 5:30-6:30 PM!

There are only 2 (two!!!!) days until the conference, and we'd like to introduce another one of our workshop facilitators: Chino Scott-Chung!

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Chino is a Chinese and Indigenous Mexican American writer, currently working on a novel about an 8 year old “paper son” who uses false documents to immigrate to the U.S. during the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Chino is one of 5 facilitators of the workshop: "API Transmasculine Anthology; Join the Rice Bowl: Telling our Stories & Creating Our Art," another being Jai, which y'all met yesterday! This workshop invites you to join in the process of using writing and art as a source of power and liberation. Come as yourself to explore different themes, including identity, race, oppression, and medical transition!

There are only 3 more days left until the conference, we'd like you to meet 3 of our performers for Opening Night on Friday, May 3rd, happening at Hearst Field Annex A1 from 5:30 - 6:30 PM.

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Step aside Rami Malek! There is no stopping Art Kahn as he pays fierce tribute to the legendary Freddie Mercury. This King of Queen will serve you some serious drag king realness. A self-identified “q***rean” (q***r Korean-American,) multi-disciplinary performer, circus theatre artist, and previous winner of the 17th annual SF Drag King contest, they will bring their arena-rock-sized talent to the QACON ‘19 stage as the fabulous “Mr. Fahrenheit!”

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Also introducing Cal VSA Lion Dance! A group of talented friends from the Vietnamese Student Association that are performing the traditional lion dance. A tradition spanning thousands of years to to bring good luck and dispel evil spirits. Come watch them demonstrate these mythical creature's movements.

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Finally, introducing a 2 parter: Jai Lei Yee! Jai is the only person performing and facilitating a workshop! On Friday, they will be bringing life to two poems. One of which is titled “Silver Love,” and the second one is called “Reconnection,” as well as a dance. They will be facilitating the workshop: “API Transmasculine Anthology; Join the Rice Bowl: Telling our Stories & Creating Our Art,” but more on that tomorrow!

With only 4 more days until the conference, we'd like you to meet another one of our workshop facilitators!

Meet Nic Strack, an Empowerment Coach for Mamas and Mamas-to-Be. They work to deconstruct the beliefs of the limitations of binary + cishet + patriarchal systems, as well as reconstructing and living a conscious based on their Inner Truth.

They will be facilitating the workshop: "QPS: Navigating Parents When Coming Out Goes Left," in which attendees will examine the impacts of labels in Asian families and how to manage their own Q***r Positioning System (QPS).

With 5 days to go, we're pleased to introduce one the workshop facilitators of "Girl Ga(y)ze: A Conversation about Q***r Asian Pop Stars" -- Emily Liu!

Emily is a 4th year student at UCSD double majoring in Ethnic Studies and Psychology. The daughter of Chinese and Taiwanese immigrants, she interns at the UCSD Cross-Cultural Center, and serves as the Internal Affairs Coordinator of Students Against Mass Incarceration at UCSD.

The workshop will consist of a discussion about q***r Asian femme pop singers, their work, and their implication for Asian identity expression. We will be talking about the radical joy of q***r pop music and love, and the struggles of making it as an Asian artist in the globalized white supremacist music scene.

Six days to QACON'19, folks!!

Next in our line of performers and workshop facilitators, please meet Anjali Rimi!

She is a Trans woman from India, and currently lives in Oakland, working a professional job and continuing to contribute to the LGBT community through her artistic and social endeavors and strides in workplace inclusion for TGNC folks. Rimi requests the world to accept Trans identities as equals and capable individuals of holding jobs, degrees, relationships and a dignified life.

She will be facilitating the workshop: API Trans Women of Color: Surviving or Thriving, which aims to cover the journey, struggles and achievement lifecycle of a trans woman of color when supported with right resources, community and grit.

Hello beautiful community!

There is only one more week (7 days!) until QACON' 19: Fiat Flux, and we'd like to introduce you to some of our workshop facilitators: Aparna and Sau!

If you haven't registered yet, do so here: https://forms.gle/WuCCu836Ar77v2yh8

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Meet Aparna Komarla, a third-year undergraduate math major at UC Davis, with an interest in learning about the pre-colonial presence of homo-eroticism and homosexuality in India!

Aparna will be facilitating the workshop: Homo-eroticism & Same-S*x Love in India, which will discuss homo-eroticism and homosexuality in India, and its erasures particularly through the lens of colonialism. There will be examples from different texts and with the framework established by Dr. Vanita and Dr. Kidwai in "Same S*x Love in India" and "Q***ring India,” used to understand the role of 200+ years of colonial presence in the Indian subcontinent in the heterosexualization of love and the erasures of same-sex love today.

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Meet Sau Hsu, an immigrant from Taiwan, raised and educated in Honolulu, HI. He is part of API Legal Outreach's youth project and works as its "care" manager, providing supportive services for youth who were affected by domestic violence, assault or harassment.

He is facilitating the workshop: Everything My Dad Taught Me About Masculinity Was Wrong": a call to action with an intent to be an inclusive community-building experience. This forum encourages participants to be candid about how the socialized systems of masculinity and patriarchy affect their communities and aims to create action steps and an opportunity to create anti-violence young men's curriculum in Asian Pacific Islander communities.

QACON '19 Registration Form

It's Q***r Quote Qwednesdays! Today, coming at you from Cecilia Chung:

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For us older activists, we have seen how rights were gained and how rights were lost almost faster than we gained them. Hopefully, it sends a message back to us and our community that we can never get complacent again.

-Cecilia Chung (2018)

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Cecilia Chung is a trans woman that is a civil rights leader for LGBT rights, HIV/AIDS awareness, health advocacy, and social justice.

If you would like to read more about Cecilia Chung during this interview, https://www.them.us/story/transvisionaries-cecilia-chung-channels-her-anger-into-activism

How Trans HIV/AIDS Advocate Cecilia Chung Channeled Her Anger Into Activism "I had always been an angry child and I always tried to find fault with the real world. I think becoming an activist was just a natural development from that."

Oh, how egg-cellent to see you here, looking at this post! Please join the rest of us good eggs in May!

Hello, community!!

Did you intend to submit a workshop, but never got around to it? Do you just need a few more days to perfect your outline? Are you waiting for inspiration to strike?

Worry not!

The workshops application deadline for QACON'19 has been EXTENDED to midnight on Saturday, 3/16, and can be found here: https://goo.gl/forms/ND8Fc8YdSOXk9Kdc2

As always, if you have questions, comments, or concerns, PM us here or email us at [email protected].
Have at!!

Are you looking for a link to a QACON'19 interest form? Fear not, for your easy access, they are all available here:

Register to attend at: https://goo.gl/forms/Uxa6pM6OacHUVpcd2

Workshop Application: [CLOSED]
Housing Application: [CLOSED]
Performer Application: [CLOSED]

Hello, beautiful community!

If you're already planning to submit a workshop, or if you're just squinting at the workshops application from a distance, that is quite excellent!

Submit your workshop proposals here: https://goo.gl/forms/PuwzqJSbBLjJ05q02

Please know that we would love to have you and your wealth of knowledge and experience at QACON'19. If you have questions, feel free to message this page, or email us at [email protected].

QACON '19 Workshop Application CALL FOR WORKSHOPS! Welcome to the workshop application for the Q***r and Asian Conference 2019- Fiat Flux: Let There Be Change! Fill in & submit this application by Wednesday, March 6th, 2019 at 11:59 PM to have your workshop idea be considered for the 2019 conference. Anyone (students, community m...

Hello from QACON '19 Workshops committee! If you are having trouble with the the workshops link, do not fret! Here is a new link to submit workshops. Sorry for the inconvenience!

https://goo.gl/forms/PuwzqJSbBLjJ05q02

QACON '19 Workshop Application CALL FOR WORKSHOPS! Welcome to the workshop application for the Q***r and Asian Conference 2019- Fiat Flux: Let There Be Change! Fill in & submit this application by Wednesday, March 6th, 2019 at 11:59 PM to have your workshop idea be considered for the 2019 conference. Anyone (students, community m...

PSA: our website, qacon.org, is experiencing temporary difficulties and is not currently available!

Our New and Improved™ site should be up by the end of this month, and until then you can stay updated via this page here, or by joining our mailing list!
(If you are not on the mailing list and would like to be, you can PM this page or email us at [email protected] 👌🏼)

QACON updated their business hours.

Hello all! Thank you so much for coming out to QACON this year; we had a great turnout, and everyone on the planning committee had a blast!

We'd also like to give a HUGE shout out and thank you to Nicole Yuen and Anonymous for donating to our crowdfund! We reached our goal, and we wouldn't have been able to do it without y'all. We hope to see everyone again next year--we'll make it the best QACON yet!

If you haven't registered for QACON yet, it's not too late! We'll be doing registration up until Saturday morning, so fill out the form here: https://bit.ly/2EcVfv2

You can find more information about the schedule and workshops at http://qacon.org/ !

Also, we’re so close to our crowdfunding goal! We've got less than 10% - just under $150. Thank you so much to our donors, and we hope that, if you attend QACON ‘18, you enjoy it just as much as we do, and leave with a feeling of growth.

To those of you who have not yet donated, please consider doing so before it’s too late! We have FOUR DAYS LEFT for crowdfunding, so please help us reach our goal before the end of the month! We can do it, and every little bit counts! Donate here: https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/9643/updates/1

QACON '18 Registration Form Welcome to the registration form for the 11th annual Q***r and Asian Conference at UC Berkeley on April 27th - 29th, 2018! Date: April 27th - 29th, 2018 Location: UC Berkeley Campus Friday Opening: TBD Saturday: Dwinelle Hall Sunday: Tilden Room, 5th Floor of MLK (Martin Luther King Jr. Student Unio...

The conference is upon us!

At the end of this week (Friday, the 27th), come visit us at the Multicultural Community Center (MCC) for opening night! Registration starts at 5pm, and Opening Night officially begins at 6pm. Can’t make it on Friday? All is well, for Saturday’s the main day of the conference, with registration and breakfast beginning at 7:30am. (More info at the end.)

We’re so close to our crowdfunding goal! We’re a little over 80% there, with only about $250 left to go. Thank you so much to our donors, and we hope that, if you attend QACON ‘18, you enjoy it just as much as we do, and leave with a feeling of growth.

To those of you who have not yet donated, please consider doing so before it’s too late! We have less than a week left for crowdfunding, so please help us reach out goal before the end of the month! We can do it, and every little bit counts! Donate here: https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/9643/updates/1

More information about the schedule can be found at http://qacon.org/schedule/, and all of the workshops on Saturday are listed at http://qacon.org/workshops/. Be sure to check out our website, http://qacon.org/, for more information and to register!!

QACON '18 | Limitless Help UC Berkeley raise $1,500 for the project: QACON '18 | Limitless. Your gift will make a difference!

We’re getting closer to our crowdfunding goal for QACON! We hope to raise at least $200 over the next couple days—would you be willing to help? With these funds, we’ll be able to improve QACON with each passing year. Check out our crowdfunding page here! https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/9643

QACON '18 | Limitless Help UC Berkeley raise $1,500 for the project: QACON '18 | Limitless. Your gift will make a difference!

Announcing our workshop application extension!

We are now extending deadlines for applications in response to requests for more time! The new application deadline is now Wednesday, March 21st, 2018. If anyone you know would like to facilitate at QACON'18, please forward this information along!

The late application can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6X0fqLay8ovwsc_Vtm7rHXnTWci7sTH6nQ-NrGKhTtKNdaA/viewform

QACON '18 LATE Workshop Application CALL FOR WORKSHOPS! Welcome to the workshop application for the Q***r and Asian Conference 2018: Limitless! Fill in & submit this application by Friday, March 16th, 2018 at 11:59 PM to have your workshop idea be considered for the 2018 conference. Anyone (students, community members, non-students, a...

Reminder that workshops deadline will be on March 7th, 2018, just one (1) week away!

We’d love to have you all facilitate at our conference, so if you have any questions, concerns, or would like to bounce some ideas off of us, please do not hesitate to reach out at [email protected]!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQOKLdYGfVEdrUa1x8qSziEJcNPn8qiCAXFxcchMzZ1F_weA/viewform

QACON '18 Workshop Application CALL FOR WORKSHOPS! Welcome to the workshop application for the Q***r and Asian Conference 2018: Limitless! Fill in & submit this application by Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 at 11:59 PM to have your workshop idea be considered for the 2018 conference. Anyone (students, community members, non-students,...

Call for our wonderful and talented performers!

We are inviting anyone who is interested - community members, students, non-students, alumni, and faculty-- to apply to perform during our Opening Night! Your performance can range from spoken word, musical numbers, performance art, or even ventriloquism! If you are interested in showcasing your abilities to our amazing community, please have the performer's application form completed by Friday, March 23rd, 2018 at 11:59 PM.
For further questions and information, please contact [email protected].

QACON '18 Opening Night Performers Application The Annual Q***r & Asian Conference is back! We are welcoming all entertainers who are interested in performing at opening night on Friday, April 27th. If you are interested in our event's theme, "Limitless," and wish to perform, please fill out and submit this form by Friday, March 30th. Applicatio...

Call for Workshop Presenters!

We welcome anyone who is interested - community members, students, non-students, alumni, and faculty-- to submit a workshop proposal. If you are interested in hosting a workshop, please complete this workshop application form by Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 at 11:59 PM. For further questions and information, please contact [email protected].

https://goo.gl/forms/nH39rK0bNgUojXQg2

QACON '18 Workshop Application CALL FOR WORKSHOPS! Welcome to the workshop application for the Q***r and Asian Conference 2018: Limitless! Fill in & submit this application by Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 at 11:59 PM to have your workshop idea be considered for the 2018 conference. Anyone (students, community members, non-students,...

Hello beautiful community!

We are happy to announce that registration is now open for the 11th annual Q***r and Asian Conference! We encourage the Q***r Trans Asian Pacific Islander [QTAPI] community and anyone interested from everywhere to come attend. This year’s theme for QACON ‘18 is “Limitless.” As such, we will be reflecting on our identities and how we can push past boundaries to heal and empower our communities. (You can check out our mission statement in the registration form!)

What: The 11th Annual Q***r and Asian Conference
When: April 27th-29th, 2018
Where: University of California, Berkeley
Who: You! (q***r Asians and allies)
Cost: FREE

Here are some useful links:

Registration: https://goo.gl/forms/0crqcw5j14OLvkWF3
Housing application: https://goo.gl/forms/YAks5kwuTx24UY3t2
Workshop application: https://goo.gl/forms/nH39rK0bNgUojXQg2

Stay tuned for the volunteer application!

For more information, visit our website QACON.org (under construction), or email [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you here!

Sam Ku & Ralph Leano Atanacio
QACON ‘18 Co-chairs

QACON18 Registration Form Welcome to the registration form for the 11th annual Q***r and Asian Conference at UC Berkeley on April 27th - 29th, 2018! Date: April 27th - 29th, 2018 Location: UC Berkeley Campus Friday Opening: TBD Saturday: Dwinelle Hall Sunday: Tilden Room, 5th Floor of MLK (Martin Luther King Jr. Student Unio...