Queer Arts Festival 2023: Queers in Space
byTake an otherworldly journey of cosmic camp with the Queer Arts Festival 2023: Queers in Space (QAF) in Vancouver. Enjoy 11 days of multidisciplinary media arts, dance, burlesque, music, literary and drag events, centered around QAF’s signature curated visual art exhibition.
Queer Arts Festival 2023: Queers in Space
- When: Select dates June 17 to 28, 2023
- Where: Vancouver venues listed below
- Admission: Limited quantity of festival passes are available now. Single day tickets are also available via each event’s link on the QAF site.
Futurism and Fantasy have always been pillars of the Queer experience – they’ve empowered, inspired, and provided sanctuary. QAF 2023’s visual art show, bumfuzzled monachopsis: innerspace out curated by Zandi Dandizette explores what happens when Queer and Trans artists come together to claim their Space, free to be their authentic selves.
From now until the festival opening ArtParty! on June 17, you can also enter the prize raffle by donating. Each $10 donation gets one entry into the prize draw. Prizes include festival passes, limited-edition commemorative festival prints, and more.
Event Line-Up
ArtParty!
June 17, 7:00pm
Gala Opening Reception | Roundhouse Exhibition Hall, 181 Roundhouse Mews
QAF 2023 officially launches into orbit at the Roundhouse. Take in the incredible Visual Art Exhibition and enjoy delicious food and drink while gyrating to the spins of the incredible DJ Nea Stone Fox.
bumfuzzled monachopsis: innerspace out
June 17 – 28, 9:00am to 9:00pm daily
Curated Visual Art Exhibition | Roundhouse Exhibition Hall, 181 Roundhouse Mews
New media interdisciplinary artist Zandi Dandizette curates this year’s Visual Art Show, asking viewers to “wander the maze of our hearts and open themselves to the multiplicity of being.”
Cosmic Connections: Queer Indigenous Astronomy (A View From Above and Below)
June 17 – 28, 9:00am to 9:00pm daily
Preston Buffalo AR Works | Roundhouse Exhibition Hall, 181 Roundhouse Mews
Augmented Reality artist Preston Buffalo secretly brings the Roundhouse to life with Indigiqueer pasts and futures in a series of AR images that are revealed when your phone scans a QR code.
Love After the End: Joshua Whitehead & Friends
June 18, 3:00pm
Talking Stick: Trilogy of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Art | Roundhouse Performance Centre 181 Roundhouse Mews
Acclaimed writer Joshua Whitehead joins fellow Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction contributors Nathan Adler, jaye simpson, and Nazbah Tom for an afternoon that demonstrates how Queer Indigenous communities can bloom and thrive through utopian narratives.
Cinq-à-Sept Reception
June 18, 5:00pm
Talking Stick: Trilogy of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Art | Roundhouse Exhibition Hall 181 Roundhouse Mews
Join a special reception courtesy of Full Circle: First Nations Performance, featuring a book signing and DJ set. Free admission.
Virago Nation Burlesque
June 18, 7:00pm
Talking Stick: Trilogy of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Art | Roundhouse Performance Centre 181 Roundhouse Mews
The day concludes with a powerful performance by the badass Indigiqueer burlesque babes of Virago Nation. This performance is 18+.
Pride in Art Community Exhibition
June 19 – July 8
Community Arts Exhibition | James Black Gallery 144 E 6th Ave
Featuring outstanding artists from local 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Each year, QAF opens submissions to artists of all skills levels to submit their work, centred around the festival theme. Join the opening on June 19 from 7:00pm -10:00pm.
Odera Igbokwe: New Yams Festival
June 22 – July 28, Tuesday to Saturday, 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Art Exhibition | SUM Gallery 268 Keefer St #425
Aolo exhibition by Odera Igbokwe, an illustrator and painter who celebrates the magic of the African Diaspora and QTBIPOC. New Yams Festival is a direct reflection, response, and Queer reclamation of The New Yam Festival of the Igbo people.
Sujit Vaidya: Breathe In The Fragrance
June 23, 7:00pm
Dance Performance | Roundhouse Performance Centre 181 Roundhouse Mews
Sujit Vaidya’s celebration of erotic ritual combines traditional Indian dance elements with modern choreography and queer eroticism.
Curator Tour
June 24, 2:00pm
Visual Art Tour | Roundhouse Exhibition Hall 181 Roundhouse Mews
Guided tour through the Visual Art Exhibition at the Roundhouse Community Centre. This tour is led by QAF curator Zandi Dandizette.
Witch Prophet
June 25, 5:30pm
Concert | šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square – Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza
QAF partners with Vancouver International Jazz Festival to present a free concert with Witch Prophet: the evolution of Queer, Ethiopian/Eritrean-heritage, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Ayo Leilani.
Hymnen an die Nacht: Claude Vivier Retrospective
June 27, 7:00pm
Musical Performance | Roundhouse Performance Centre 181 Roundhouse Mews
In 1983, Canada’s queerest and most cosmic composer, Claude Vivier, shockingly left this world at the age of 34, murdered by a rent boy in Paris. In this retrospective, commemorate the 40th anniversary of his death with special performances from Standing Wave, Sarah Jo Kirsch, and Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa.
Glitter is Forever
June 28, 7:00pm
Closing Reception | Roundhouse Performance Centre 181 Roundhouse Mews
16th Queer Arts Festival comes home to dock in spectacular fashion, featuring drag performances by the House of Rice and music by DJ Bella Sie.
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