Jean-Baptiste Phou: Coming Out of My Skin

Part of Words Around the World FREE, $10-$15 suggested donation Part of Words Around the World Sponsored by Center for the Art of Translation Co-presented with Villa Albertine Having grown up as a Cambodian immigrant in France, Jean-Baptiste Phou has long explored the challenges and contradictions of the Asian diaspora experience throughout his artistic career. However, up until now, he’s always been careful not to raise issues of sexuality—in particular, his homosexuality. In his recent memoir, Coming Out of My Skin, the artist shifts his focus to examining the role his ethnic origin has played in the construction of his sexual identity and his romantic relationships in a predominantly white environment. An astute observer of the various ways in which his body has been perceived, Phou asks: how does a marginalized person develop emotionally and build, reclaim, and express their sexuality? How does this inform the experience of a queer Asian person navigating predominantly white cultural spaces? In conversation with César Cadabes, Artistic Director for the GLBTQ Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA) Theatre. Doors at 6:30pm.