Queer Arts Festival

HAUNTINGS 

What haunts you? Fear? Insecurity? Longing? In a Queer context, our very existence is haunting ― a reminder of what colonial culture attempted to erase and an ephemeral suggestion of what future lays in wait across generations.

QAF 2022 explores Hauntings in both playful and profound ways with a dynamic suite of visual art, performance, music, and literary events, from the depths of the Sun Wah Centre, up through Centre A: Vancouver International Centre For Contemporary Asian Art, On Main Gallery, and SUM gallery, to the rooftop overlooking historic Chinatown. We’re rekindling our longstanding partnership with the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre and celebrating deepening friendships with the James Black Gallery, Full Circle: First Nations Performance, Griffin Art Projects and Coastal Jazz & Blues Society.

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FULL FESTIVAL LINEUP:

ArtParty! | Festival Opening Reception | Sat Jun 18 | 7 pm  | Sun Wah Centre Rooftop |
What better way to kick off QAF 2022 than from the rooftop of our Chinatown digs! Stunning views, phenomenal performances, delicious food and drink, and three floors of art to explore in Sun Wah Centre.

Vanishing Act: Curated Visual Art Exhibition | Sat Jun 18 – Fri Jul 8 | Visual Art | Sun Wah Centre | Free
Curated by Adwait Singh and directed by SD Holman, Vanishing Act is a survey of queer artistic practices from South Asia and beyond. A partnership with Centre A, On Main Gallery and Griffin Art Projects. 

Cross Cultural Queer & Trans Walking Tours | Sun Jun 19 & Sun Jun 26 | 2pm | Tour | Chinatown | $$

QAF partners with Cross Cultural Walking Tours in celebration of Pride Month for two Cross Cultural Queer & Trans Walking Tours. Tours begin with a walkthrough of Queer Arts Festival headquarters at Sun Wah Centre.

Pride in Art Community Show | Mon Jun 20 – Fri Jul 8 | Visual Art | James Black Gallery | Free

Our first partnership with James Black Gallery, the community arts show is the bedrock of our festival, featuring outstanding artists from our local 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. We give our community artists a loving welcome Mon, Jun 20 at our 7pm opening reception at the James Black Gallery. Come see what haunts the artists amongst us …  

Catalina La O Presenta: Now With Me | Thu Jun 23 & Sat Jun 25 | 7 pm & 2 pm  | Performance  | Roundhouse Community Centre || $$

Winner of the 2020 Vancouver Fringe New Play Prize and created by performance duo jk jk (khattieQ, musician/performer; Jenny Larson-Quiñones, director/writer), Catalina La O is a comedy show, protest, and cabaret for Queer communities, for the colonized body and for Puerto Rico.

Adria Kain + Janette King | Fri Jun 24 | 7:30 pm | Musical Performance | Performance Works, Granville Island | $$

QAF partners with the Vancouver International Jazz Festival for the first time to present Toronto-based vocalist Adria Kain and Montreal’s Janette King.

Reel Eerie | Sun Jun 26 | 7 pm | Media Art Screening | Roundhouse Community Centre | | $$

An evening of the queerest of horror shorts, curated by CS Fergusson-Vaux and Ben Siegl. Hold on to your popcorn, there may be jump scares!

Bijuriya: Gabriel Dharmoo | Tue Jun 28 | 7 pm | Drag Performance  | Roundhouse Community Centre | $$ 

Bijuriya, aka Gabriel Dharmoo, a celebrated experimental drag artist engages her Desi heritage while confronting larger issues of heritage, decoloniality and Queer intersectionality.  

Vanishing Act: Curator Tour + Reception | Sat Jul 2 | 3 pm + 5 pm | Visual Art Tour + Reception | Sun Wah Centre | | Free

Vanishing Act multiplies, expanding into Centre A: Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art; with a guided tour led by Founding Artistic Director Emeritus SD Holman, Guest Curator Adwait Singh and visiting guest artists AND a party, of course!

Queerotica | Wed Jul 6 | 7 pm | Literary Readings | Sun Wah Centre, 2nd Floor | Free

Vancouver/Edmonton writer and activist Berend McKenzie curates an evening of queer writers whose works will inspire, provoke, and titilate while conjuring The Masc & Femme We Wear. 

Glitter is Forever | Fri Jul 8 | 7 pm | Closing Revels | Sun Wah Centre, 2nd Floor | Free

Our 15th Queer Arts Festival closes as it opened: with a party! Catch the art one final time and join us for revelry, special guest DJs and performances, and all the bubbles you can handle.