Now accepting submissions for the 2023 QAF Community Art Show

Where: The James Black Gallery (144 East 6th Avenue, Vancouver)
When: June 19 – July 8, 2023
Submission deadline: May 20, 2023

Queer Arts Festival 2023 Theme: Queers in Space

Futurism and Fantasy have always been cornerstones of the 2SLGBTQIA+ Experience. What better place to manifest ourselves as the free and empowered superbeings we truly are? For many queer people, the Future is a place where dreams are realized; for others it’s a vital sanctuary from a present-day reality that does not include them. While “Queers in Space” may evoke cosmic camp and otherworldly voyages (and this festival gleefully delivers both), we take these words very seriously as well: this is just as much a call to explore and celebrate the space we occupy, each and every day; to honour our queer elders on whose shoulders we stand; and to celebrate our future, queer trajectories.

This year’s QAF Community Art Show will be held June 19 – July 8, 2023 at The James Black Gallery (144 East 6th Avenue, Vancouver). We’re inviting the artists in our local Queer communities from across the Lower Mainland to contribute works that explore the Queers in Space theme – though all submitted works will be considered. 

The Community Art Show was founded in 1998 by a collective of queer artists and was the foundation on which the Queer Arts Festival was built. QAF and The James Black Gallery are excited to join forces once again to co-present the QAF Community Art Show, which continues to be an integral Festival event and a declaration of solidarity within our local 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. 

We are considering 2-D visual works, sculpture, digital art, and interdisciplinary works for submission. Public and outdoor installations will also be considered. As this is a group show, the opportunity to present large-scale or multiple pieces/series works may be limited in order to accommodate as many artists as possible.

Please submit the following, to submissions@queerartsfestival.com:

• digital images of artworks (as attachments)
• all works must be professionally presented; wall-mounted pieces must be ready to hang
• artwork information (title, medium, year, dimensions, price)
• artist bio (optional)
• artist statement (optional)
• resume/cv (optional)
• headshot (optional)
• links/social media (optional) 

Submissions will be accepted until May 20, 2023 or when the venue has reached capacity.

Queer Arts Festival is the flagship event of the Pride in Art Society. Founded in 2008, QAF is an annual artist-run transdisciplinary art festival taking place each summer in various locations throughout unceded Coast Salish Territory, also known as Vancouver. Each year, the festival theme ties together visual art exhibitions, a performing arts series, literary events, workshops, artist talks, panels, and media art screenings.

The James Black Gallery is a queer-led artist-run centre dedicated to giving a voice to emerging artists by providing space for community engagement and experimental multidisciplinary art practices. We offer studio and gallery space with a focus on remaining responsive to the ever shifting needs of our community. The JBG has been operating collectively since December 2014 and is located in a heritage building (est. 1889) in Mount Pleasant, Vancouver which is on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territories of the  xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwu7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

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