Category: Event Archives

These are the archives of the past events that were done through the Event Calendar plugin.

Bleeding Hearts and Artists

The year’s most important fundraiser in support of the Queer Arts Festival

Tickets: $35

Absentee Bidding is now open.

Come party with the Queer Arts Festival on Tuesday February 14, 2017 for our winter fundraiser, Bleeding Hearts & Artists, graciously hosted by Bruce Munro Wright & Paul Wong at Bruce’s beautiful home near Oak and Broadway. The address is provided when you purchase your ticket from Brown Paper Tickets.

The soirée will feature performances by Frédérik Robert and Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa, Cease Wyss, and MC David C. Jones. If you missed your chance to get one of Carl Pope’s fabulous posters at the 2016 festival, we have a few for our silent auction!

Bid on artwork by:

and tickets to some of the hottest art events in the city:

Other auction items include: tea from Raven & Hummingbird Tea Company by Cease Wyss, a signed book from Nicola Harwood and a gift certificate to Rosedale on Robson Suite Hotel. We also have a raffle prize from Paul Wong. Raffle tickets are available at the event for $20 each.

Both online absentee bidding and in-person bidding are available. Click HERE to learn more.

This fundraiser is an important way we make our festival happen. We thank you for your support and hope to see you this Valentine’s Day!

Race-ing Queer Music Scholarship

A symposium featuring a concert, keynotes and multiple panels of academic papers, to race queer music scholarship by critically engaging a richer, more intersectional approach to thinking about music in its relationship with queer bodies.

November 2

Keynote Speakers

4pm–6pm, University of British Columbia

Suzanne G. Cusick, chair

Alisha Lola Jones, “ ‘You Are My Dwelling Place’: Experiencing Black Male Vocalists’ Worship as Autoeroticism in Gospel Performance.”

Deborah R. Vargas, “The ‘J’ (jota) in Jenni:   Jenni Rivera’s Queer Sonic Imaginary.”

Concert: Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa and Teiya Kasahara

6:30pm, University of British Columbia, School of Music, Recital Hall

Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa and soprano Teiya Kasahara (QAF Artist 2012, 2013) perform pieces by Leslie Uyeda, Hiroki Tsurumoto and Jeffrey Ryan. Teiya previously appeared at QAF as Solana in the world premiere of When the Sun Comes Out, Canada’s first lesbian opera (commissioned by QAF).

Cursor 7, by Hiroki Tsurumoto

“And so I killed a man tonight,” from The Laurels (2001), with music by Jeffrey Ryan, libretto by Michael MacLennan

Solana’s Song from When The Sun Comes Out (2013), with music by Leslie Uyeda, libretto by Rachel Rose

November 3

Panel: Complicating Queer

9am–10:30am, University of British Columbia, Irving K Barber Library, Dodson Room

Panel: Genealogies of Current Popular Musics

10:45am–12:15pm, University of British Columbia, Irving K Barber Library, Dodson Room

November 4

Panel: Identification and Identity

12pm–1:45pm, Sheraton Wall Center Hotel

Panel: Critiquing Racial Blindness

8pm–10pm, Sheraton Wall Center Hotel

Please note that registration for the conference is free. Visit Race-ing Queer Music Scholarship for more information.

Race-ing Queer Music Scholarship sponsored by the LGBTQ Study Group of the AMS, the Queer Resource Group of the SMT, the Gender and Sexualities Taskforce of the SEM, the School of Music of the University of British Columbia, the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice at UBC, the Department of Music at the Graduate Center in the City University of New York, and Women & Music: A Journal of Gender and Culture.

Call for young artists

YOUNG AND QUEER, HERE AND NOW – June 18-28, 2016

Call for young artists (ages 15-24)Vancouver based contemporary dance company MACHiNENOiSY is offering a free 7 day workshop that explores identity, gender and community that will culminate with a performance as part of the Queer Arts Festival.Young and Queer, Here and Now is being offered to LGBTQ2S+ youth and allied youth ages 15-24. No previous training in dance or theatre is necessary. Through this workshop we will create a safe space for the youth to feel empowered and secure to express themselves, to explore what it means to be young and queer, here and now. Each day, the participants will receive training in dance and theatre improvisation and in Contact Dance as a means to highlight the unique identities and talents of each of the youth. We also welcome the inclusion of other skills the participants may wish use in the workshop such as music, spoken word, or (?) The workshop will culminate with a performance as part of the Queer Arts Festival June 28th at 7:00 pm. Young and Queer, Here and Now provides an opportunity to give a voice to queer and allied youth within a professional arts platform and demonstrate how dance performance can be a catalyst for liberation, self-development & social change.MACHiNENOiSY is a Vancouver-based contemporary dance company whose work has been presented nationally and internationally. Artistic Directors Delia Brett and Daelik maintain a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to dance making. They teach a democratic form of dance, which promotes the inclusion of all bodies, races, gender and ages into dance. Our methodologies have set us apart as provocateurs and courageous rule breakers among our contemporaries. MACHiNENOiSY has been working with LGBTQ2S+ youth on developing performances since 2012.Workshop Dates (Roundhouse) June 18th 12:00-4:30 June 19th 12:00-4:30 June 22nd 1:00-5:30 June 25th 12:00-4:30 June 26th 12:00-4:30 June 27th 12:00-3:00 June 28th tech rehearsal TBC, Performance 7:00 pmIf you are interested in participating, please contact MACHiNENOiSY with a short statement on why you’d like to be a part of this workshop: info@machinenoisy.com

Curator Panel

ASL interpretation has been booked for this event.

Renowned curator Jonathan D. Katz and curated artists lead audiences through Drama Queer: seducing social change. 

Entry to all QAF events requires membership to the Pride in Art Society. Memberships are available for $2 online, or a $1-$5 slide scale at the door. Please allow a few extra minutes at your first event to obtain your new card.

Queering Selfies

In partnership with WePress, Directions Youth Services and Broadway Youth Resource Centre.

For queer youth, the defence of our identities is wrapped into survival. Self portraiture, a.k.a. Selfies, are a grounding mechanism and an easy route to self compassion and empowerment. This workshop encourages the mixing and blending of these two genres, drawing no difference between art history and contemporary visual media. Participants will walk away with works of art that combine text + imagery printed on an antique letterpress, in addition to new skills in self reflection and letterpress printing. No experience in either is necessary.

This workshop will take place over two days, Friday June 24 and Sunday June 26, starting at 2:30PM on each day.

Free of charge. Space is limited: click HERE to register using our online form.

WePress Vancouver WePress is social enterprise community makerspace that provides access to equipment and training for DTES residents & organizations in Vancouver, BC.

Young and Queer, Here and Now

In partnership with MACHiNENOiSY.


The late teens and early 20s are often a time of uncertainty and self-identification. We struggle to figure out who we are, who we want to be and how we can embody that to the world.

QAF and MACHiNENOiSY create opportunities for the next generation of artists and strengthen queer and allied youth through creation processes that explore identity, gender and community, culminating in this performance at the Queer Arts Festival.

Young and Queer, Here and Now give voice to queer and allied youth within a professional arts platform and demonstrate how dance performance can be a catalyst for liberation, self-development & social change.

Entry to all QAF events requires membership to the Pride in Art Society. Memberships are available for $2 online, or a $1-$5 slide scale at the door. Please allow a few extra minutes at your first event to obtain your new card.

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A Gossamer Bit: CONTACT Contemporary Music

In partnership with Redshift.

Tickets $30/$15 concession

A Gossamer Bit celebrates the longstanding association between the Toronto based ensemble Contact and lesbian composer Allison Cameron. A kaleidoscopic fusion of elements as disparate as minimalism, avant-garde jazz and Charles Ives, Cameron’s music is spacious, introspective and hypnotic. Released on CD in May 2015 on the Vancouver label Redshift Records, A Gossamer Bit is an immersive exploration of Cameron’s diverse output. This concert program also features works by Ann Southam, Julius Eastman, Jerry Pergolesi, and John Cage.Members: Nick Bobas, bass Mary-Katherine Finch, cello Sarah Fraser Raff, violin/viola Wallace Halladay, saxophones Rob MacDonald, guitars Jerry Pergolesi, percussion Allison Wiebe Benstead, piano/keyboards   Artistic Direction: Jerry Pergolesi Rob MacDonald
Entry to all QAF events requires membership to the Pride in Art Society. Memberships are available for $2 online, or a $1-$5 slide scale at the door. Please allow a few extra minutes at your first event to obtain your new card.

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Queer Noise

ASL interpretation has been booked for this event.

Queer Noise is a program of Canadian media art which combines presentation and dialogue to explore political intention in contemporary queer work. The evening will include short film and video curated by media artist E Hearte and featuring the work of artists: Abstract Random, kimura byol-nathalie lemoine and Lamathilde, Kami Chisholm, T.L. Cowan, Thirza Cuthand, Martin Edralin, Blair Fukumura, Rémy Huberdeau, Larose S. Larose, Elisha Lim, Joseph Medaglia, Kent Monkman, Iris Moore, Scott Fitzpatrick, and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. The program will be followed by a roundtable discussion led by Paul Wong with Thirza Cuthand, Blair Fukumura, and E Hearte.

Community Partners: Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival, Kickstart Disability Arts & Culture and VIVO Media Arts Centre

Entry to all QAF events requires membership to the Pride in Art Society. Memberships are available for $2 online, or a $1-$5 slide scale at the door. Please allow a few extra minutes at your first event to obtain your new card.   Brown Paper Tickets Ticket Widget Loading… Click Here to visit the Brown Paper Tickets event page.

Dragging Piaf

In partnership with BC Living Arts.

Tenor Frédérik Robert performs as iconic French singer Edith Piaf, accompanied by a silent film directed by Alan Corbishley. Desperate to be loved and understood, Vancouver drag queen Ed becomes obsessed with the tragic life of Edith Piaf, paints himself in her likeness, and much like Edith herself, becomes a creation of the streets. Frédérik has been honing his Piaf persona since 2008, twice performing at QAF, and we are pleased to now present the full-length show. Artist talkback to follow.

Entry to all QAF events requires membership to the Pride in Art Society. Memberships are available for $2 online, or a $1-$5 slide scale at the door. Please allow a few extra minutes at your first event to obtain your new card.

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Glitter is Forever: Closing Party

Presented by SAD Mag.

ASL interpretation has been booked for this event.

SAD Mag presents the Queer Arts Festival’s final blowout—revel in community, effervescent refreshments, karaoke and DRAG! Glue on your glitter beards and get down to the Waldorf for glitter-licious performances by:
ROSE BUTCH
ALMA BITCHES
and GRIMM (the reigning champion of the 2016 Mr/Miss Cobalt Competition)!

Hosted by the infamous Shanda Leer, this is a queer party you’re not gonna wanna miss!

Tickets are available HERE.

Accessibility Info:

The party is being held in the Tabu Room, with the west side patio entrance. Entrance is double doors (exact width pending) with 6 stairs going down into the Tabu room where bathrooms are accessed. There are an additional 6 stairs to get down to the dance floor. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact hello@sadmag.ca

Queewritica

Queewritica: Erotic writing on libido’s continuum. No matter the genre, no matter your level of experience on or off the page, if you’re writing about sex, we want you to come. Be your boner micro or macro or no bone at all, Queewritica can take it. From dried up to dripping wet, all levels of moistness are wanted.

Write libido’s continuum with us at the Roundhouse Board Room on the first Tuesday of every month.

This event is ASL interpreted and free of charge.

Queewritica provides creative writing space for adults of all genders, orientations and relationship paradigms found under the queer umbrella. As such, members will be expected to interact respectfully and constructively to writings about sexuality and relationship types that may differ from their own experiences and preferences.

Queewritica puts on readings quarterly, with all proceeds being donated to Pride in Art Society. Participation is optional.

Queewritica meets at the Roundhouse on the first Tuesday evening of every month at 7:30pm. Check the chalkboard at the front desk when you arrive for the room.

ASL Interpretation is provided by volunteers from the Douglas College program of sign language interpretation. The venue fully wheelchair accessible. Please help us keep QAF events scent-reduced and refrain from wearing scented products while attending Queewritica.

For a full accessibility audit of the space, visit Radical Access Mapping Project.

About the Facilitator:

Monica Meneghetti is a multilingual language professional and writer with a penchant for cross-disciplinary collaboration. Monica’s poetry and creative nonfiction have appeared in literary journals and musical scores, as well on stage and online. She has also taught and mentored both youth and adults, offering custom-designed workshops. As an editor, she has a special interest in enabling marginalised voices to be heard. She holds a BA in French & Linguistics, and an MFA in Creative Writing from University of British Columbia.

SongLaunch: World Premieres from Art Song Lab

With Art Song Lab and the Canadian Music Centre.


World premieres of 12 new art songs by poet/composer collaborations created during the Art Song Lab program.

This year, QAF presents a queer edition of the critically acclaimed Art Song Lab (ASL), in partnership with Art Song Lab, the Canadian Music Centre, VSO School of Music, CMC BC Creative Hub, and The Roundhouse. Curated by writer Ray Hsu, composer Michael Park and pianist Alison d’Amato, ASL is a week-long program exploring the collaborative process of poetry/music fusion, interpretation, and performance. Writers and composers are paired to create new art songs, then partnered with singer/pianist teams for an intensive program that includes workshops with distinguished composer Jeffrey Ryan and C.E. Gatchalian, intensive rehearsals, group discussions of the interpretive/collaborative process, the “Songsparks” series of interactive evening workshops at the CMC, culminating in the “SongLaunch” concert performance at QAF.

Performers:
Lynne McMurtry (mezzo) and Alison d’Amato (pianist)
William George (tenor) and Corey Hamm (pianist)
Catherine Laub (soprano) and Rachel Iwaasa (pianist)

Composers:Poets:
James CoomberMichel Beaudry
Roisin AdamsJudith Neale
Zachary KenefickL Matthews
Michael ParkSajia Sultana
Emily Joy SullivanEve MacGregor
Sammy ShatnerKatherine Chan
dubravko pajalicMark Bondyra
Glenn SutherlandMary Aitken
Sandro ManzonZoe Dagneault
Nebal MaysaudJennifer Kwon Dobbs
Graham A. SmithJudith Penner
Jordan KeyKaren Garry

Co-Directors:
Michael Park, Ray Hsu, and Alison d’Amato

Entry to all QAF events requires membership to the Pride in Art Society. Memberships are available for $2 online, or a $1-$5 slide scale at the door. Please allow a few extra minutes at your first event to obtain your new card.

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Lyle Chan’s String Quartet: An AIDS Activist’s Memoir

ASL interpretation has been booked for this even.

Please arrive early, as the event will begin promptly at 7:00pm with no intermission.

This new work by acclaimed Australian composer Lyle Chan, is a visceral musical portrait of the peak of the epidemic. Between 1991-1996, Chan and fellow activists couriered AIDS treatments from the US that were unavailable in Australia, fiercely lobbied federal government to approve experimental treatments more quickly, and collaborated with drug companies to design clinical trials of promising new treatments. During those years, Chan writes, “I’d given up music to be an activist. But a composer is always a composer. I still sketched a lot of music. The music were my diaries, a way of writing down feelings. As a composer I think of music as the sound that feelings make.” Performed by the Acacia String Quartet and narrated by Chan himself, the 90-minute work is a tour-de-force of emotionally powerful music, containing portraits of famous activist friends now dead, and unusual effects like the use of police whistles to recall street demonstrations by ACT UP, the direct action protest group of which Chan was a core member. Artist talkback to follow.

Entry to all QAF events requires membership to the Pride in Art Society. Memberships are available for $2 online, or a $1-$5 slide scale at the door. Please allow a few extra minutes at your first event to obtain your new card.   Brown Paper Tickets Ticket Widget Loading… Click Here to visit the Brown Paper Tickets event page.

Art Song Lab

in partnership with Art Song Lab and the Canadian Music Centre, Vancouver International Song Institute, CMC BC Creative Hub, The Roundhouse

A queer edition of the week-long program exploring the collaborative fusion of poetry and music.

Hear the songs premiered at SongLaunch on Sat Jun 25 at 2pm.

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Art Party! Gala Opening Reception

ASL interpretation has been booked for this event.

Join us for the Queer Arts Festival’s Art Party!, one of Vancouver’s hottest pride season events. This spectacular gala event features, ravishing refreshments, amazing artwork and queer conviviality.

Art Party! celebrates the opening night of QAF’s curated exhibition, Drama Queer: seducing social change, curated by Jonathan D. Katz, the Pride in Art Community Show, and the extravagant kick off for incredible exhibitions, performances, and outreach initiatives that make up Queer Arts Festival.

Our opening night galas have become one of Vancouver’s best attended visual arts events, making this a party you don’t want to miss!

Entry to all QAF events requires membership to the Pride in Art Society. Memberships are available for $2 online, or a $1-$5 slide scale at the door. Please allow a few extra minutes at your first event to obtain your new card.

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