In a major first in Canada, the Rainbow Resource Center in Winnipeg has crowned its first drag artist in residence.

Drag performer Ruby Chopstix was chosen for a year-long residency earlier this week and said she still can’t believe she was selected.

“It feels like a dream to be honest,” said Alex Nguyen, who plays Chopstix.

Nguyen began performing in 2018. They say they are now excited to take the stage as the face of the resource center, which will include putting on their own project.

“It could be a fashion show, a poetry piece, a drag show like that, and we’ll have a showcase later in the year,” said Evan Maydaniuk, director of the development of the Rainbow Resource Centre.

Nguyen is Vietnamese and says that growing up, they didn’t really see themselves — or Asians in general — represented in the media. In this role, they hope to change that for others by putting on a drag show that will highlight diversity and representation in the drag and queer communities.

“My idea is going to be based on great representation and just making sure that a lot of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) and underrepresented communities can really shine,” they said.

Chopstix will also work with the center’s youth program as a role model and community advocate. Nguyen said they hope their new platform will pave the way for people to pursue their dreams.

“As long as I can inspire at least one person to pursue what they want to do, especially in drag, especially if it’s an Asian person, that would make me so happy,” Nguyen said.

Maydaniuk said he organized the residency to showcase drag as an art form and support local artists.

“This is a way for us to show that the Rainbow Resource Center supports queer and trans artists and that we want to promote drag as an expression of queer and trans joy,” he said.

According to Maydaniuk, one of the driving forces behind the program is the poor treatment of cross-dressing performers, particularly drag bans and anti-trans legislation in the United States.

“This has been a very difficult year politically for our community,” Maydaniuk said. “Drag artists have found themselves the scapegoats for a lot of hateful and hateful speech towards our community.”

But Nguyen said that won’t stop him or Chopstix from winning.

“I’m going to be resilient,” Nguyen said. “No matter what, all the hate that’s going to happen – drag will exist. »