Pride Month is the busiest time in visual artist and DJ Jer Dee’s year. But its most joyous part is being with his community
If you’ve ever partied at 3 a.m. in Poblacion to a remix of Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All” or Celine Dion’s “To Love You More,” chances are that you’ve already been in the same room as Jer Dee.
Dee is a visual artist, illustrator, creative director, DJ, and an out and proud gay man who unapologetically blasts classic pop divas during his sets at many of Manila’s hottest nightlife venues.
Even before opening his first solo exhibit titled “Pleasure” in February, the unironic multihyphenate has had his plate filled to the brim with collaborations, gigs, and personal projects.
In the last couple weeks alone, he has gone international, collaborating with YouTube on a Yoodle or the animated YouTube logo, and reimagining prolific gay publication Gay Times’ logo for their 40th anniversary as one of the campaign’s featured artists.
Beyond his illustration work, Dee has also firmly established himself as a DJ. He’s a regular suspect in places like Poblacion, where you’ll see his name on the rosters of establishments like Apotheka and Annex House on their rosters.
Having an insanely full schedule gig and a laundry list of collaborations isn’t anything new for Dee, but it took a while for him to get here.
The road to booked and busy
Some of Dee’s most formative experiences and where he truly started out was a place that was deeply beloved by the queer community: TodayxFuture.
The legendary bar was one of the queer safe spaces for many millennials where they could sing, dance, and be the truest versions of themselves without fear of judgment. It was also where a lot of today’s popular DJs got their start.
“Wala pa akong alam [sa pag DJ noon], parang laptop pa lang ako and all that,” he recalls.
He started spinning there around 2016 to 2017, and it was also one of the first opportunities he had to merge his love for music and illustration. After initially going as a patron, he eventually played events like “Bad Girls” and “Labasan ng Sama ng Loob.”
“Doon ko na start i-fuse ang illustration practice ko. Because I was also offered to do the posters for ‘Bad Girls,’” he adds.
These projects aside, Dee admits he got into the professional illustration game late. He had been working with brands as a campaign artist, though in a freelance capacity.
It wasn’t until the pandemic when he took a leap of faith to really put himself out there as a brand in both DJing and illustration.
“And now we’re here! Booked and busy,” he laughs.
Born this way
Dee’s origins as an artist predates his club kid era. Before he was even old enough to enter the bars he now frequents, his first medium was something a lot of creatives share: fan art.
Back in his school days, he would draw fan art of pop stars, which later transitioned into drawing drag queens. “Even then, medyo queer-coded talaga ang mga ginagawa ko,” he reminisces.
One of the most striking visual elements of Dee’s current work is the androgyny of his figures. Both in his personal art and the visualizers he creates for parties like Church, there’s a blend of striking lines and gentle curves that evoke the masculine and the feminine.
“When I do personal art naman, I try to make it queer-coded. Like this is not just a guy. Pag tinignan mo mga figures ko, you wouldn’t know what their gender really is. Medyo non-conforming siya,” he explains.
Even with the conscious effort, he still acknowledges that it’s a natural expression of who he is. Queerness is a central element of Dee’s work because of his identity.
“I feel like my works are inherently queer. Pero ’di ko siya actively sinasabi na ‘Oh this is queer art.’ Because this is who I am. This is just who I am,” he declares.
Finding the strength to carry on
Rest is a state many creatives only dream of, but Dee makes it a priority. During his busiest periods, he can play as many as five separate gigs a night—on top of his illustrator duties. At a certain point in his career, he came to a conclusion that things are just going to get crazier and crazier.
“I had a realization na ’di na talaga ako makapag-truly rest, kasi tuloy-tuloy na talaga siya,” he confesses. “Nakaka burnout talaga.”
“Nag-hard reset ako by taking vacations. Hindi ako magtatrabaho. As in wala.”
– Jer Dee
Though he really enjoys his work, one of his top priorities this year was also to rest. Since he technically owns all his time thanks to his freelance status, he tries to take full-stop-type breaks that he schedules ahead of time.
“Nag-hard reset ako by taking vacations. Hindi ako magtatrabaho. As in wala.”
Earlier in the year, his strategy was to hustle hard in the first few months so he can take an uninterrupted break for a week or two every quarter. It’s a priority for him to get as much rest as he can before Pride because he knows it’s the start of his busiest season.
And as a seasoned nightlife pro and an active member of the LGBTQIA+ community, he knows he needs it.
No such thing as “dancing on my own”
It would be easy to assume that he’s grown tired from all the partying, but the wild nights are Dee’s favorite thing about Pride Month. Pride after all was born from the legendary Stonewall Protests and what’s a revolution without a rager? Especially one during Pride Month.
Sweaty bodies—as far as the eye can see—are crammed in a single space. But there’s no serious complaining about how hot it is. Everyone is dressed in the most earth-shattering, cunty ’fits you can imagine, and there’s always enough dancing to make the ground shake underneath you. It’s a moment in time when everyone is viscerally alive and living an unabashed level of authenticity you’d never encounter anywhere else.
“Basta makayugyog, makasayaw, game!” he says with a little shimmy. “Sumasayaw kami for us. There’s no pretense.”
Even if the lashes are drooping and the glitter is getting everywhere, people don’t care. The dancing will continue even if the stilettos are committing crimes against humanity. The music will keep bumping as long as there are still people on the dancefloor. And the dancing goes on and on—sometimes even after the sun comes up.
In his perspective, there’s an underlying theme to all of this celebration. And it’s the power of community.
“Everyone takes care of each other and everybody looks out for each other. That’s what I like about Pride Month.”
That camaraderie extends beyond the fun.
The greatest love of all
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that community is one of the main pillars of modern day queerness. It’s also one of the greatest expressions of love.
“It’s the community that you foster. That’s queer joy. It’s as simple as that,” says Dee.
“[Community is] the key. You find joy, kasi, not just in romance. It’s the community that you foster even outside of parties. Sobrang common theme among queer people ’yung having chosen families. So inherent ’yun,” he explains.
This community is especially important outside the month of June. Rainbow washing, or only showing up in support of the LGBTQIA+ community when it’s convenient to the financial bottom line, has been prevalent in recent years. Dee wants to remind everyone that queer people don’t just exist in June, especially when it comes to their professional pursuits.
While he admits that things have gotten better, in the sense that people aren’t forgetting about Pride after June ends, he still feels like society can collectively do a better job.
“A lot of queer creatives are saying ang mga work namin just doesn’t stop after Pride Month. Like guys, you can book us the rest of the year,” he says.
“Foster kindness. Foster community. Be kind to everyone. Ganon!”
– Jer Dee
Dee’s worked hard enough to have a steady stream of work throughout the year, but other queer creatives aren’t as fortunate. Many of these creatives—and not just the queer ones—rely on their community to find work during these times.
For young queer people who want to get into the creative scene, he emphasizes on passion and the people you surround yourself with.
“Find like-minded people. Whatever your niche is, meron na meron yan. You just have to find it. But also, you have to put yourself out there. Whether that’s showing up to [conventions] or in venues of your interests. Even connecting with people online,” he says.
“Foster kindness. Foster community. Be kind to everyone. Ganon!”
