Queer Island Festival of the Arts

For immediate release: The largest arts festival in Victoria is underway, and it's super queer! The Victoria Arts Council is thrilled to announce the inaugural QUEER ISLAND FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS, taking place this June. A ground-awakening initiative by one the longest-running grassroots arts organizations in our city, this coming together across literary, performing, and visual arts celebrates the breadth of queer art and the tenacity of queer artists practicing in the face of adversity. The VAC will be partnering with the following cultural groups/organizations/businesses towards a city-wide festival of queer arts: Arc.hive artist-run centre; Aunty Collective; Carr House National Historic Site; Camosun College; The Fifty Fifty Arts Collective; Hands On Collective; Ministry of Casual Living; Intrepid Theatre; Fernwood Community & Arts Assoc.; Saanich City Hall; Sunday Afternoon; Planet Earth Poetry; Madrona Gallery; Mark Loria Gallery; Gallery Merrick; The Regional Assembly of Text; UVic Special Collections + Library; XChanges Gallery and Studios; in addition to the VAC’s own long-standing satellite venues: Fort Street Project Space (The Bay Centre -- exhibition / Festival office); theDock Centre for Social Impact; GVPL Emily Carr Branch GVPL Central Saanich Centennial, with more partners joining weekly. Queer Island Festival of the Arts represents an unprecedented coming together of our creative communities across non-profit, educational, and commercial sectors in support of 2SLGBTQIA+ artists working in our city. Across these twenty-five presenting partners, Queer Island will bring the city exhibitions, readings, workshops, performances, and panel discussions centering queer experience and approaches in the arts, including important contributions by Indigenous artists, as well as artists of Colour; those working / living with Disabilities; and other marginalized positionalities. “The West Coast has long been considered a queer haven, and this exciting new festival reinforces that notion. At a time when our community and our rights are facing an uncertain future, globally, we know that coming together is one way to prove that we’re still here and we’re still queer...”, says Festival Producer, Kegan McFadden. A complete list of offerings can be found at the dedicated website: QUEERISLAND.CA Media contact: Kegan McFadden, Producer: Queer Island Festival of the Arts: info@queerisland.ca “Queer' not as being about who you're having sex with (that can be a dimension of it); but 'queer' as being about the self that is at odds with everything around it and that has to invent and create and find a place to speak and to thrive and to live.” - bell hooks (1952-2021) Lots of queer art... No jerks.