Your Queer Neighbours Festival

About the festival

Your Queer Neighbours Festival transforms Balam Balam Place into a soft, creative neighbourhood of care, where queer international students, alumni, migrants, and allies can slow down, rest, create, and reconnect.

What to expect:‍

• Art, zines, and storytelling by queer international creators
  
• Cultural exchange through food, music, and performance
• Intercultural dialogue and community connection
  
• A celebration of resilience, identity, and belonging
• Grab a bite, meet new people, and mingle
  
• Or just chill and relax in a quiet corner

Festival Program

Artists & Groups

Aarti Jadu

Aarti guides a gentle movement and vocal pranayama session focused on slow shifts, warm-ups, and long holds to deepen somatic awareness and support calm, mindful presence.
(Note: Please register for the workshop here)

Ayako Fujii

Ayako, a Melbourne-based multi-instrumentalist and composer from Osaka, will play live Okinawa music and some of her original compositions.

Congee Club

Congee Club turns the space into a culturally sensitive social place, teaching your Congee Club ways of playing Mahjong.

Din

This workshop invites you to craft meaningful talismans from found and foraged plant materials, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary through intention and connection.

Elena Gao – Colour Them Safe

Elena guides you to design holiday cards, make mini vision mood boards, and decorate tote bags using mixed-media materials that celebrate your identity, culture, and festive imagination.

Jina He

Jina invites everyone to weave fabric strips and shared moments into a growing communal installation that becomes a living archive of queer connection and care.

Kiki Ando

Create your own unique contemporary mask using everyday local natural materials, reinterpreting ancient cultural rituals through a modern, fashion-focused lens.

LARHC - Gaysell

Gaysell, a wandering Latina diva eager to learn from her neighbours and share Colombia’s queer culture, moves gently through the festival, appearing in any rooms you may cross paths, chat or take a photo together.

Laura Liu

Create a tiny 8-page zine about who you are, fold one sheet into a mini booklet and fill it with simple drawings, words, or collage that express the small things that make you YOU.

Michelle Chen – Mental Jam

Mental Jam invites you into “Bobarista,” co-create characters for a cozy wombat-barista game where you serve magical bubble tea, meet tender characters, and gently care for your own mental wellbeing along the way.

Taka & Youbi

Taka & Youbi create an atmospheric sound and movement journey that blends intimacy, improvisation, and gentle queer storytelling as you craft your own puppet.

Tony Yap & Taichi Ishii

Tony and Taichi lead a grounding movement ritual that nurtures presence, breath, and connection with your inner landscape.

Plan your visit

Address: Balam Balam Place, Brunswick
‍Transport: Close to tram and train routes
‍Cost: Free
‍Bring: Water bottle, comfy clothes, curiosity, friends or chosen family

Any Questions? Contact us!