I first met Michael Venus when he was a club kid in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the 1990s. He and his drag alter ego Miss Cotton, leader of The House of Venus collective, were putting on art shows and club nights, writing columns for a magazine I was editing and hosting an annual wearable art and wig festival called Wiggle.
These days, Venus is executive director and chief curator of Age of Union, a Montreal-based not-for-profit environmental alliance launched in 2021 with $40 million in funding by tech leader and environmental activist Dax Dasilva, dedicated to backing conservation efforts around the world. Venus is also one of the people behind the fourth and most recent season of Pride: The LGBTQ+ History Series, which is available internationally on several streaming services. This docuseries follows filmmaker Mark Kenneth Woods and friends as they travel to different Pride celebrations around the world to learn about LGBTQ+ history. In Season 4, released June 7, 2023, the crew goes to Honolulu, Hawaii; Stockholm, Sweden; Mexico City, Mexico; Venus’s home base of Montreal, Quebec; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Melbourne, Australia.
Pink Ticket caught up with Venus to talk about his travels.
How did you come to be involved with Pride: The LGBTQ+ History Series?
I had travelled with Mark Kenneth Woods a couple of times for his shoots. He was getting more folks to get involved with the project and he asked me. We had travelled to New York when I was filming a doc and he was filming, I think, Season 2 of Pride. We’ve worked together for many years: we did The House of Venus Show, which was the world’s first queer sketch comedy show, which came out almost 20 years ago when there wasn’t much queerness on TV. From there we did the movie Deb and Sisi, then The Face of Furry Creek, which was a sitcom. Mark started getting into documentary work, as did I.
Where did you go for the show?
I did the Montreal episode, but of course I didn’t go anywhere for that. I went to Melbourne for their Midsumma Festival in February, and we went to Amsterdam this year for Season 5, which is already being made.
What kind of impression did Melbourne make on you?
Their Midsumma Festival is basically a month-long Pride celebration with things happening all over the city. I had the chance to learn more about Australia and Melbourne itself, and to meet lots of interesting folks. There’s an artist, Drew Pettifer, who had a show called Forget Me Not, about what they called a bushranger. This guy was an outlaw in the 1800s who had a gay lover, which was documented. We met some other wonderful folks working with elders and trying to create a better future there, because there doesn’t seem to be as much focus on the elders in our communities as much as I feel [there] should. It was very uplifting to hear what they were doing to provide support to seniors. As you know, we’re going to be one of them soon.
What do you think they’re doing right in Melbourne, things other cities could learn from?
I think New Zealand is doing the best at advancing the rights of Indigenous folks and I think Melbourne is trying very hard. You can see similar issues with Commonwealth countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada, but I think Melbourne does well in celebrating their history. And of course you know, that’s where Kylie is from. They have a statue of her [which] we were on the hunt for while we were there.
In all your travels, what place do you love most?
Oh my god, that’s so hard to say. One of my favourite places is Thailand. I just love the culture. The people are so beautiful, and it’s really amazing to see so many trans women in the society and the level of social acceptance of trans women. As for places in Thailand, Bangkok is just insane, it’s so great. Chiang Mai, in the north of the country, is also amazing. It’s cooler than Bangkok, which can be humid, and it has amazing food. I’m a vegetarian and there was lots of vegetarian fare.
I also adore Cambodia. As I’m getting older, I could see myself, maybe not retiring there, but spending more time there. You can’t help feeling so small and insignificant in a way because you’re surrounded by these jungles with ancient ruins that are just stunning. But it’s really the people that make Cambodia so beautiful. Everyone is so friendly and there’s lots of vegetarian and vegan food.
Thailand is famously friendly to LGBTQ+ visitors—how did Cambodia feel for you?
I thought it was just as friendly to LGBTQ+ folks. I had no stress at all. I didn’t see as many trans women there, but you definitely get a sense that there are a lot of LGBTQ+ folks living good lives there.
What was your favourite thing you did in Cambodia?
Visiting the ancient temples, particularly Angkor Wat. It was utterly magical. I have a thing I do. I do runway at historic places, not in a sacrilegious way, but in a respectful, liberating way, so I did that there. I just wear my same pedestrian tourist wardrobe, but it’s all in the walk. That’s when you see the super femme come out.
The New York Times recently published a piece about LGBTQ+ travellers going to countries that are not friendly to them—countries that have laws criminalizing homosexuality, for example. On one hand, they’re putting themselves at risk and paying cash to oppressive governments. On the other, their visits can help support queer and trans people who might be working in the hospitality industry.
I definitely fear for the locals. I’m a total empath, so I catch on to vibes right away. That’s why I wouldn’t want to go to any place that doesn’t treat their humans properly. It’s a big world. I don’t have any interest in seeing places that aren’t friendly. On the other hand, I can see how folks could go in the hopes of making change. But I won’t definitely won’t be going to Uganda at this time. I wouldn’t go to China.
And where do you definitely want to go ASAP?
I’d love to go to Greece. That’s where it all began, western culture coming out of Europe. It just seems so romantic and beautiful and fantastical. Or maybe I just want to live my Wonder Woman fantasy. I mean, I’d be living my Wonder Woman fantasy.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
