Singer-songwriter | Writer | Producer | Theatremaker | Actor | Public Speaker

Who is Monica?

Hailed from Hong Kong, Monica Wat is an artist now based in London and Bristol. At 17, she posted an original song for Jason Mraz and Raining Jane on YouTube. They invited her to their concert in return, which inspired her to pursue a pathway in music making. Relatively new to the UK creative scene, Monica has already performed at a series of landmark venues like Trinity Centre, Arnolfini and Tobacco Factory Theatres. Most recently, she was part of the line up of the Bristol Beacon's Housewarming party, MOON FEST, the Trinity Garden Party and Bristol Friendship Festival.

As a singer-songwriter and producer, her songs are at once lyrical and intimate, influenced by her lifelong literature background. Entirely self-written and produced, she released her first single 'Memories, Linger' in December 2021, a soothing, nostalgic pop and R&B ballad exploring her journey of drifting from one city to another and finding herself in between. The music video has attracted close to 10000 views and 3000 subscribers on YouTube. Her debut EP ‘Fairylights’ is coming out on February 27, named after the mesmerising decoration that first greeted her when she uprooted her life to the UK from Hong Kong in the midst of political turbulence. The EP includes singles ‘Rose Gold’, ‘Silver’, ‘Stressed’ and her new song ‘Universe’, all chronicling her first years in the UK with heartfelt lyricism and ethereal indie folk-pop melodies. Her song ‘Silver’ was also awarded the first place of The University of Hong Kong’s ‘Keen Lyric Quest’ songwriting competition, judged by top songwriters and producers in Hong Kong.

In film and theatre, Monica has appeared in 'The Winter's Tale' (Asia TOPA 2020, Melbourne), 'Bless us Below' (Tobacco Factory Theatres, 2022, Bristol), 'Address the Court' (Red Hat Productions, 2022) and other projects. She self-directed and produced short film 'ASSIMILATION', which has been selected as part of the SCENE programme by the British Film Institute. She is also a theatre facilitator, having devised English-language theatre workshops for young people in Yangon, Myanmar and Hong Kong for organisations including UNICEF HK, Shakespeare4All and The University of Hong Kong.

Monica is also the founder and producer of MOON FEST, the first-ever arts and music festival celebrating East & South East Asian (ESEA) creatives in the UK. She produces it in the capacity of Made on the Moon, a growing collective fostering creativity in the ESEA community. The first MOON FEST took place on September 10, 2022 at Arnolfini to overwhelmingly positive reception, and has since evolved to be an annual festival. Monica has been interviewed by the BBC (BBC News and Points West), Bristol Post, The Bristol Magazine and more.