Why gay-iendly Taiwan is a creative haven for LGBTQ art | CNN

Contents:

• GAY/BL (TAIWAN)
• WHY GAY-IENDLY TAIWAN IS A CREATIVE HAVEN FOR LGBTQ ART
• AARON YAN OUTED AS GAY AFTER LEAKED PHOTOS REVEAL HE WAS THREE-TIMG HIS EX-BOYIEND
• TAIWAN GAY FILM

GAY/BL (TAIWAN)

We Are Gay Taiwane Movie - 2017 39. More than 4, 000 gay upl have sce taken advantage of the landmark legislatn. All this n help the gay muny, which foc on different issu, to thrive.

WHY GAY-IENDLY TAIWAN IS A CREATIVE HAVEN FOR LGBTQ ART

Beyond the legal rights of exprsn enshred s nstutn, Taiwan ranked 34th the world (and 2nd Asia, after Thailand) a gay happs x based on the experienc of 115, 000 men om around the world. And 2017, jt months after Taiwan’s nstutnal urt paved the way for the marriage law by clarg same-sex marriage a legal right, the gay art scene was afford rare mastream attentn wh the exhibn “Spectrosynthis – Asian LGBTQ Issu and Art Now.

For Su’s generatn, however, the gay art scene has long been flourishg. One of his most recent projects saw Su film unrealized scen om “The Glamoro Boys of Tang, ” a homoerotic fantasy movie featurg i, killgs and an exorcism, that was released whout parts of the origal screenplay, as Su believ they were emed appropriate nservative 1980s Taiwan.

AARON YAN OUTED AS GAY AFTER LEAKED PHOTOS REVEAL HE WAS THREE-TIMG HIS EX-BOYIEND

It was this that saw the openg of LGBTQ-iendly venu like IT Park and the G G Bookstore, which has hoed a gallery space Taipei for more than 20 years, alongsi an explosn gay lerature, nightlife and amic disurse.

But while gay artists were ee to practice their art, nservative attus persisted. So-lled nversn therapy, a psdoscience that attempts to “treat” homosexualy, remaed prevalent ( was only formally banned 2018).

Organizers of a 2003 exhibn of works ma by gay artists durg nsensual art therapy even felt necsary to clarify the show’s not: “This exhibn is not to show LGBT people need to be cured. “It’s tratg that even your parents n’t see your value, or tell others that their son is gay.

TAIWAN GAY FILM

At the other end of the spectm, homosexualy remas a punishable crime parts of Southeast Asia, cludg Malaysia, Bnei and some areas of Indonia.

In between, there are a number of plac that ostensibly allow gay art to be displayed, but where censorship remas a signifint barrier. Meanwhile Sgapore, where artists are permted to exhib LGBTQ-themed work spe the fact that gay sex is illegal (a law that is rarely enforced), censorship is also mon. Wh Taiwan attemptg to tablish self as a mercial arts statn (the lnch of the Taipei Dangdai art fair 2019 signaled that the island may hope to challenge Hong Kong’s domatn of the Asian market), the island’s gay artists uld, turn, benef om the growg ternatnal profile.

For the 41-year-old artist and photographer, this curatorial cisn reprents a wir problem facg the arts Taiwan: That gay male artists ntue to take a disproportnate chunk of the limelight. “The majory of curators and llectors are male, and, om my perspective, they are more terted gay male art, ” she said, addg: “We all notice that there are a lot of gay artists ( Taiwan), but if a curator asks, ‘Who’s a lbian artist? Acrdg to Su Misu, an oversimplifitn of LGBTQ issu is another obstacle facg Taiwan’s gay artists.