Maiden China

甄念菻 / Kendell Yan (she/they) is a second generation Chinese, trans-femme, non-binary artist living on the stolen lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. She is a multidisciplinary artist, event producer, and artistic director at Queer Based Media. Her artistic practice includes performance, visual art, sculpture, digital media, makeup, writing, and costuming, and is primarily centred around her drag identity, Maiden China. Through this lens she explores themes of vulnerability, queer ritual, the concept of the “hyphen”, and liminal experience, by incorporating elements of classical Chinese opera, glamour, punk, and intimate contact performance art. They perform regularly as a member of the House of Rice, “Canada’s” premiere all-Asian drag family, as well as one of the Darlings, an experimental non-binary drag theatre collective. Kendell’s work has been featured by the Aesthetica Short Film Festival, Upintheair Theatre, rEvolver festival, The Array Festival, the PuSH International Performing Arts Festival, the Vancouver Queer Arts Festival, The Transform Cabaret Festival, and Outstages.