Directory of International
Queer Art and Culture Festivals

(Photograph copyright 2008 by Michel F. Paré. View of The International Women's Human Rights panel discussion Tuesday June 24, 2008 at Gladstone Art Bar, Toronto Ontario For (Java Knights Public Forum) an event at Queer West Arts and Culture Festival. Guest speakers - Carolina Gama, from Mujeres al Frente (Women in the Front Line) support group for Latin American LBTIQ Women and Transgender Persons and Andrea C. Siemens, Amnesty International's Refugee Network and the Christian Peacemaker Teams. Host and moderator: Michel F. Paré)

Directory of International dedicated Queer Arts and Culture Festivals -

Compiled by Michel F. Paré, Toronto gay archivist, activist.

European Festivals

aLAF - a Lesbian Arts Festival in Dublin, Ireland, celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer women’s artistry and creativity, from poetry to music, theatre to film making and visual art to the art of our own bodies. ALAF has been running annually since 2002.

Aalborg Queer Festival- Aalborg Queer Festival in Denmark is a DIY (do-it-yourself) and non-profit event. It is a non-sexist and non-racist festival. It is about making a space for creativity and critical thoughts.

The Berlin Queer Festival - supports and promotes all the independent queer productions and every form of creativity

Gaywise LGBT Arts Festival - aims to provide a unique platform for Queer Arts principally created by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) artists from a variety of diverse backgrounds. The festival will present the work in a creatively safe, stimulating and artistically challenging manner. It also offers the unique opportunity to showcase the artwork in London, UK.

Homotopia - a festival in Liverpool, UK, featuring a variety of events including theatre, film, art, performance, photography, heritage and storytelling. Homotopia was launched in 2004.

Nigah QueerFest in New Delhi, India, found in 2007 as an attempt to create queer culture in the Indian capital, for and by queer people themselves. The festival has now grown to a full ten days arts festival, which features films, photography, talks workshops, performances and parties at several venues in the Indian capital. The festival is organized by Nigah, which is a queer collective that works on issues of gender and sexuality.

Oslo Queer Festival - Oslo Norway Queer Festival 20-23 Aug 2009

Queer Up North - Queer Up North is Manchester's UK international queer festival. The first of its type in Europe, Queer Up North commissions, produces and presents a diverse, annual programme of live performance, art and ideas.

Queer Zagreb Festival - Listing is Facebook page. Queer Zagreb is an international festival which has been taking place in Croatia every May since 2003. It grew to be the biggest such event in Central and Eastern Europe. The Pride Zagreb Festival is one day event in late June, just a parade and a concert. It is very distinctive from the Queer Zagreb Festival . In the last two years QZF organizers have collaborated on many programs with Pride Zagreb

Outburst - an annual queer arts festival and creative initiative for Northern Ireland. It takes place at a number of venues in Belfast.

Sarajevo Queer Festival- The first Sarajevo Queer Festival took place between 24 and 28 September 2008. Organized by a non-governmental organization called Udruženje Q, the festival of art and culture included exhibitions, performances, public discussions and films. The idea of Queer Sarajevo Festival was born in 2006. The Festival in itself challenges and questions heteronormative and patriarchal values, particularly those centered around the issues of identity, sexuality and human rights.

Non-European Festivals

Canada Bent Umbrella - Bent Umbrella Queer Performing Arts Society produces events in Vancouver, British Columbia fostering queer and gender bending performance. We aim to build a diverse and inclusive performance community. We are open to dialogue, accountability, responsibility, physical accessibility, and we embrace and respect diversity and participation.www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33080711267

Canada Exposure - The Exposure Festival in Edmonton Alberta uncovers, highlights and celebrates queer arts and culture. The festival exposes queer artists to new audiences, and exposes Edmonton audiences to new art. Exposure presents queer artists working in diverse media. By creating environments where artists can explore queer culture and take risks, the festival cultivates creative synergies, thought-provoking displays, social commentary, and new possibilities for inhabiting sexuality and gender. Exposure has been running since 2006.

Canada on Jan 21, 2010. The Pride In Art Society (PiAS) has changed the name of its annual festival to Queer Arts Festival presented by Pride In Art a not-for-profit organization in Vancouver, British Columbia creates opportunities for dialogue between queer artists from different disciplines, encourages visibility and appreciation of queer art and artists through the presentation of events. The major difference between Vancouver and Toronto is that Vancouver Quuer Ats Festival, Vancouver Pride and the Vancouver Queer Film Festival work in harmony with each other for a whole month.

Canada Queer West Arts and Culture Festival - Queer West Arts and Culture Festival in Toronto Ontario, is one of largest of four such Festivals in all of Canada, that showcase queer artists, cultural producers, and activists for queer and queer-friendly audiences. Queer West Arts and Culture Festival is creating awareness internationally about the contributions of queers to the art world and cultural life in Toronto and around the world. The 1st Annual Queer West Fest took place in 2006.

United States Homo A Go Go festival, San Francisco, USA, features a diverse, multi-disciplinary line-up of music, film, spoken word, visual art and workshops in a unique blend of community building and cultural activism. The festival strives to feature a roster of queer artists and activists from diverse backgrounds, identities and locations. Homo A Go Go has been running since 2002.

United States National Queer Arts Festival - Since 1998, QCC has organized an annual month-long National Queer Arts Festival in California. USA. To date, these Festivals have presented more than 400 different events featuring over 1000 Queer artists including Alice Walker, Robert Rauschenberg, Bill T. Jones, Ester Hernandez, Adrienne Rich, Marga Gomez, Justin Chin, Cherrie Moraga and Dorothy Allison. The 2006 Festival attracted more than 65,000 people.

All of us in East and West villages, share a 30 year history of Queer Festivals in Toronto. It's not just, a Pride Toronto event!

About our 5th Annual Queer West Arts Festival: Overview | Festival 2010 About our 3rd Annual Queer West Film Festival: Overview | Film Festival 2010 Links: International Queer Arts Festivals | History Queer Festivals Toronto

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