For over 14 years, the Queer Arts Festival has presented thought-provoking works and performances to audiences that engage and initiate dialogue. Each year is carefully themed and curated. Here is a historical archive of the Queer Arts Festival from its inception.
Past Events
The Garden: Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa in Recital
Thu, 13 February 2020 | 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM PST
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Solo piano recital by Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa of works by queer & trans composers, including Rodney Sharman, Ann Southam & Mary Jane Paquette
Celebrated contemporary piano virtuoso Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa performs a...
Yellow Peril; The Celestial Elements
Curated by Love Intersections
Feb 1 – Apr 18, 2020 | Opening Reception: Feb 1, 4-6 pm
Yellow Peril; The Celestial Elements is a visual art exhibit inspired by the Chinese Five Elemental forces, seized by the urgent tensions between Queer Chinese diasporic identities. A collection of multichannel installations, visual and sculptural activations provoke...
BC Gay and Lesbian Archives photo identification project
The BC Gay and Lesbian Archives (BCGLA) is a diverse collection of LGBTQ2+ history, started by Ron Dutton in 1970s and recently donated to the City of Vancouver Archives. Of the over 5,400 images that have been digitized, about 1,000 photographs depict people and events that are currently unidentified.
In...
running running trees go by…
Curated by Justin Ducharme in collaboration with the artist, this year’s Vancouver Queer Film Festival offers a pop-up exhibit featuring new and retrospective works from artist Zachery Longboy.
Longboy is from Churchill, Manitoba and is of Sayisi Dene lineage. This new and retrospective collection continues the artists’ exploration within a fractured...
Glitter Technics
Glitter Technics is a 13 week workshop held every Wednesday from September 11th to December 4th, from 4pm to 8pm, with the exception of a special 5-hour workshop with Reel Youth on October 30th from 4pm to 9pm. All classes take place at The SUM Gallery in Chinatown, located at...
Stonewall 50: Glitter is Forever
Fri Jun 28 | 9pm | Free with QSO ticket | Party only $20 – $15
You can’t get that shit out!
On the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and the closing of QAF 2019 we’re...
adrian-stimson-naked-napi-artist-talk/
This event is over. For more information on the exhibition, visit: https://sumgallery.ca/2019/03/22/adrian-stimson-naked-napi/
Loud and Queer | Symphony at the Annex
March 23 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm $19 – $30
This concert recognizes the fiftieth anniversary of homosexual rights in Canada and celebrates the many, many vibrant voices that make up our queer community.
This concert is presented in partnership with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO).
There will be a...
69 Positions: the Queer Canadian and Québec Archive in Film and Beyond
May 14 – Aug 17 | with VIVO Media Arts and Vancouver Queer Film Festival |
The west coast stop of Queer Media Database Canada-Québec Project’s touring exhibition series, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Omnibus which legalized same-sex sexual activities. In partnership with VIVO and the Vancouver Queer Film Festival,...
Queer Songbook Orchestra Workshop
Thur Jun 27 | 6 – 8 pm room B |
This opportunity is for emerging artists to work with the celebrated Queer Songbook Orchestra, and use your own personal narratives as an entry point for creating music. Young artists of all disciplines welcome – bring your songs, poems, stories, dance,...
Technical Knockouts Lab
Wed Jun 12 – Sat Jun 22 |
A female-centred music production drop-in lab for queer, Indigenous and allied youth led by Kinnie Starr, DJ O Show and Tiffany Moses.
ASL interpretation available upon request.
Calling all queer, Two-Spirit, and allied poets, lyricists, performers, truth-tellers and music-makers! Want...
Queer Songbook Orchestra
Fri Jun 28 | 7pm | Concert | $40 – $30
Celebrated national chamber ensemble Queer Songbook Orchestra unearth the queer backstories and personal narratives inspired by musicof the past several generations, weaving together stories told by local narrators including Monica...
The Wide Open
Wed Jun 26 | 7pm | Media Art with Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival | $20 – $10
The Wide Open, curated by Lacie Kanerahtahsóhon Burning, continues from media art in community centres throughout Vancouver through their Trans, Gender Diverse, and Two-Spirit Inclusion team to the big screen. This media...
Diaspora
Tue Jun 25 | 7pm | with The Frank Theatre | Pay What You Can
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Jesse – an ASL opera
Mon Jun 24 | 7pm | with Landon Krentz and re:Naissance Opera | Pay What You Can
JESSE – AN ASL OPERA is a workshop reading by Landon Krentz, Heather Molloy & Paula Weber resulting from a two-week experimental process that gathered...
Technical Knockouts
Sun Jun 23 | 7pm | Multidisciplinary Music | $20 – $10
Performances by young artists from QAF’s Technical Knockouts music lab, mentored by Kinnie Starr, DJ O Show and Tiffany Moses. QAF’s emerging artist program.
NOTE: Entry to all QAF...
The Queen in Me
Fri Jun 21 & Sat Jun 22 | 7pm | Multidisciplinary musical Performance | Amplified Opera and Theatre Gargantua | $30 – $20
Artist Tour
Thu Jun 20 | 7pm | Led by Elwood Jimmy |
QAF visual artists and curator Elwood Jimmy convene for a panel discussing the visual art exhibition.
Youth Curator Tour
Wed Jun 19 | 4pm | led by Elwood Jimmy |
Curator Elwood Jimmy leads tour for LGBT2S youth to see their identities reflected in art, organized in partnership with Broadway Youth Resource Centre and Directions Youth Services.
A Night of Storytelling
Wed Jun 19 | 7pm | Literary Readings | Pay What you Can
Danny Ramadan brings his much-loved nights of readings to the Queer Arts Festival. Featuring Kai Cheng Thom, Mey Rude, Tash McAdam, Monica Meneghetti and Michael V. Smith.
A Night of Storytelling is...
Relational rEvolutions
Mon Jun 17 – Wed Jun 26 | Visual Art Exhibition |
Guest curator Elwood Jimmy
We often think of revolution in relation to ways of knowing, but we rarely think about revolution in relation to our colonial habits of being...