Queer Arts Festival 2024 - The Ties that Bind
The Ties That Bind
June 1 – 30, 2024 | Queer Arts Festival
Roundhouse Community Centre | Malaspina Printmakers | SUM gallery | The James Black Gallery | Or Gallery | Fortune Sound Club | Ocean Artworks | VAG North Plaza
The Ties That Bind examines the bonds and complexities of Family, be it blood or chosen, and how Queer communities continue to survive and thrive alongside, within, and occasionally despite, traditional family constructs. From collectives to choirs, from drag houses to dance troupes, from our community art show to the many partnerships we enjoy year after year, QAF 2024 examines the many ways in which “family” manifests itself in Queer and Queer-arts communities.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Jun 1 – 30 | Wed-Sat, 12-5pm | Malaspina Printmakers, Granville Island | Free Exhibition Opening: 6 – 10pm register Taking its title from the printmaking technique where an artist alters individual prints within a greater edition to create a series of similar, but uniquely distinct artworks, “Varied Editions” brings together a collection of Queer printmakers showcasing the ever-evolving diversity and queerness of the printmaking community.
Jun 1 – 30 | Wed-Sat, 12-5pm | Malaspina Printmakers, Granville Island | Free Exhibition Opening: 6 – 10pm register Taking its title from the printmaking technique where an artist alters individual prints within a greater edition to create a series of similar, but uniquely distinct artworks, “Varied Editions” brings together a collection of Queer printmakers showcasing the ever-evolving diversity and queerness of the printmaking community.
Jun 14 | 7pm – 10pm | Gala Opening Reception | Roundhouse Exhibition Hall | Pay-What-You-Wish | ASL by request register Nothing says “We Are Family” like our annual ArtParty! We kick off our presence at the Roundhouse Community Centre with art, conviviality, and a celebration of our 17th Queer Arts Festival! This evening also sees the launch of our visual art exhibition, CRAWL SPACE, by the 10-member animation collective Flavourcel.
Flavourcel Animation Collective: QAF 2024 Artists in Residence Jun 14 – 25 | 9am – 9pm daily | Curated Visual Art Exhibition | Roundhouse Exhibition Hall | Free QAF invites the Flavourcel animation collective out of the basement and into the CRAWL SPACE as both curators and exhibiting artists of the festival’s signature Curated Visual Art Exhibition at the Roundhouse Exhibition Hall.
Transgender Augmented Reality and Poems of Presence Jun 14 – 25 | Augmented Reality | Roundhouse Community Centre | Free STEALTH CODES is an exhibition featuring the works of Angelic Goldsky and queer community artists, crafted in collaborative workshop sessions merging poetry with augmented reality (AR). This exhibition explores digital transgender truth-telling, that is hidden in plain sight, while confronting the absence of queer transgender life affirmation online.
Premieres online Jun 14 | Podcast | Free Welcome, neighbour, to our gaybourhood. QAF’s first-ever podcast, In Our Gaybourhood is a journey through the communities of BC, meeting our neighbours who work towards a world where everyone can be proud of who they are.
Little Dollhouse on the Prairie Jun 15 & 16 | 7pm | Roundhouse Performance Hall | Pay-What-You-Wish REGISTER Brought to you by Elle Barbara, avant-garde creator and Mother of Montreal’s Idiosyncratic House of Barbara, Ayibobo III: Little Dollhouse on the Prairie is a work of high-octane performance art, merging dance with experimental soundscapes. Drawing audiences into a kinetic and spiritual vortex of pop culture and Haitian Voodoo
Jun 17 – 29 | Tues – Sat| 12 – 6pm | The James Black Gallery | Free Please note this venue is stair access only. Established way back in 1998, the then-named Pride in Art Community Show was the event that started it all. Over the years the name and location have changed, but the spirit remains the same: showcasing and celebrating the outstanding artists and artwork
QAF Film Night Jun 18 | 7pm | Roundhouse Performance Hall | Pay-What-You-Wish register Join the QAF in the return of our beloved movie night with Trace Elements , a stirring program of short films curated by Kathleen Mullen highlighting queer filmmakers who consider the highs and lows of familial bonds.
A Reading with Phanuel Antwi Jun 20 | 6pm | Artist Talk | Or Gallery | Free register Photo: Max Haiven Join us at Or Gallery for a public reading of On Cuddling: Loved to Death in the Racial Embrace with critically acclaimed artist and curator Phanuel Antwi. Ranging from the terrifying embrace of the slave ship’s hold to the racist encoding of “cuddly toys,”
Jun 21 | 10:30pm | Ocean Artworks | Free
Hailing from the Skwxwú7mesh Nation village of Eslha7an, Ta7talíya Paisley Eva’s been filling local club, party, and festival dance floors with a high energy mix of obscure underground tracks and beloved classics for over ten years. Her choice, chance-taking selections are plucked from house, disco, new wave, pop, and whatever keeps people moving. This free DJ Dance Party is proudly presented for Queer Arts Festival in association with Coastal Jazz Society.
Moor Mother
June 21 @ 7pm | Fortune Sound Club | 147 E Pender St | Admission: $37
How do you engage the stunning, evocative, haunting gift that is Moor Mother’s latest album The Great Bailout? Only by following the trail of potent verbal and sonic poetry. Only by letting Moor Mother be your guide. Released March 8, The Great Bailout is Moor Mother aka Camae Ayewa’s ninth studio album, and third with ANTI- Records.
Parlour Panther
June 22 | 2:15pm | šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square, Vancouver Art Gallery | 850 W. Georgia Street | Free Admission
Parlour Panther bursts with irresistible charm, expressive emotional chemistry, and exceptional vocal and guitar skills. Frankie and Reidar, a trans non-binary couple, have been creating music together for 10 years. This free outdoor event is presented in association with the Coastal Jazz Society as part of the Queer Arts Festival.
Jun 23 | 1pm | Visual Art Tour | Roundhouse Exhibition Hall | Free | ASL by request register Join members of Flavourcel as they give a guided tour of the CRAWL SPACE installation, providing artistic insights and a behind-the-screens glimpse on the nature of working jointly as an experimental animation collective. ASL can be booked for this event. Please email ben@queerartsfestival.com to arrange.
Jun 23 | 2pm | Community Event | Roundhouse Community Centre, Room C | Free Do you have under-utilized clothes and accessories? Are you on the hunt for some free, fab looks? Get those old clothes out of the closet and down to the Roundhouse on June 23 for our first ever QAF Clothing Swap!
Jun 25 | 7pm | Closing Reception | Roundhouse Exhibition Hall | Free | ASL by request REGISTER Our familial festivities officially come to a close with friends, music, art — and local drag royalty The Darlings ! Take a final stroll through Flavourcel’s CRAWL SPACE, thrill to music courtesy of DJ Ziggy Zaya , and experience an experimental drag troupe that CBC praises as “pushing the boundaries”