Jiayi

‘I’ve travelled a lot of places within the UK, and I still prefer Edinburgh. To me, it means community. I feel at home, both as an artist and as a person of colour.

I came to Edinburgh as an art student, and a girl in my class was organising a drag show. She said, “It’s hard to categorise. You should come and see it.” So I did, and I was obsessed! I quickly became part of the drag family as a photographer.

One of my favourite types of drag is called ballroom, which is a kind of fashion show. They’ll be held in living rooms, and they’re more underground than regular drag shows.

There’s a lot more freedom of speech here than in my hometown. There are things that we don’t talk about in public spaces or on social media, like politics. I feel much more safe here.’

Jiayi

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