Emancipation Day

FREE EVENTS AT SUM GALLERY

| #425, 268 Keefer St, Vancouver, BC |

Gallery Exhibition | Drag & Burlesque Performances | Spoken Word Celebration

August 1st is Emancipation Day and we’re celebrating with a week of events at SUM gallery!

What is Emancipation Day, you ask? It’s the day in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect across the British Empire. We’re partnering with our friends at Hogan’s Alley to present a week of stirring art and riveting performance, all viewed through a uniquely queer Black lens.

⭐️ August 1 | 7–9 PM
We’re kicking things off with a night of jaw-dropping performances featuring Mx. Bukuru, As*trix Banks, Velvet Ryder, Saint Solstice, Rainbow Glitz, Luna Buckster, and spins by DJ Grooveheart! Join us for a special reception featuring food by local Black-owned restaurants. This event is 18+.

⭐️ August 1–8, open daily 12 – 6pm*
August 1st also sees the launch of our weeklong exhibition, featuring the interdisciplinary work of Valérie d. Walker and the SUM gallery debut of Uzo, a young fashion designer focussing on crochet couture! *Note: SUM gallery will be closed Monday, August 4th.

⭐️ August 3 | 2 PM
Spoken word and poetry take centre-stage on Sunday afternoon as Addena Sumter-Freitag, April Sumter-Freitag, and Siobhan Barker present work that is at turns fearless, moving, and raunchy.

All of our events are FREE to attend but registration is recommended.

RSVP on Eventbrite

2025 Thanks

Queer Arts Festival 2025: PORTALS

Plans are well underway for Queer Arts Festival 2025: PORTALS. The full festival line-up will be announced very soon, but in the meantime, we’re excited to share one of our guest artists: accordionist and visual artist Erica Roozendaal (Netherlands), who will present her one-person show, NACHTUIL / Night Owl, in partnership with Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra.

NACHTUIL / Night Owl

Daan is thirty years old, six years old, ten, fifteen… All at the same time.

Daan lives in an ordinary village. In an ordinary house with a father and a mother. She goes to public school, enjoys  going to gym and music lessons. And her favorite activity is making beautiful things with her imagination; music, drawings or stories.

All sorts of things happen that she can’t explain. For example, she feels all kinds of things she doesn’t want to feel, very strange, but these feelings sometimes come out of the blue. As if someone else enters her body and takes over control! At times she gets the blame for things that happen, that she has nothing to do with. And sleeping… seems impossible, because at night she hears all kinds of voices that just never shut up. Only when she dares to really listen to what she actually hears in the night does she find out why she just won’t sleep and why so many unexplainable things happen.

Night owl is a beautiful and moving performance for ages ten and up that subtly addresses the theme of incest and growing up in an unsafe environment. Erica Roozendaal—performer, visual artist, and accordionist—wrote the script and performs the monologue in a restrained, captivating manner while alternating with playing the accordion.

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Community Visual Arts Show Submissions 2025

Submissions are NOW OPEN for the 2025 QAF Community Art Show! 

Submissions are OPEN for our QAF Community Exhibition, held at SUM gallery this summer!

We’re inviting artists in our local Queer communities to contribute works that explore our 2025 festival theme, “Portals” – though all submitted works will be considered. We are delighted to be hosting the exhibition at QAF headquarters SUM gallery in the Sun Wah Building in Chinatown, from June 13 – June 28, 2025. 

We are considering 2-D visual works, sculpture, digital art, and interdisciplinary works for submission.

Submission deadline: April 30, 2025

Submissions are accepted via email at submissions@queerartsfestival.com

Submission Checklist:

Submissions for the QAF Community Art Show must include:

  • Artist name and preferred email address for contacting.
  • Digital images of artworks (individual files, jpgs, or links to a website or upload are best.)
  • Artwork information for each piece (title, medium, year, dimensions, and price if applicable).

Additional information that is helpful but not required:

  • Artist biography.
  • Artist statement.
  • Resume/cv.
  • Headshot.
  • Links/social media.

All works must be installation-ready (ie, framed, hanging brackets, wires, etc). QAF will be onsite for installation, but whenever possible Artist’s are encouraged to help!


SUM AiR January 2025

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House of Andromeda

FFF Rafael Khalil

AIR ilvs events

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AIR Rafael Khalil

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