Pride season may be over, but there's still a load of LGBTQ+ festivals and events happening across the rest of the calendar year. Whether it's film festivals, queer markets, live theatre or art exhibits, there's something for everyone - so here's our list of queer festivals and markets happening around the UK, this year and beyond.
Shout Festival - Birmingham - November
Queer Art & Performance Festival
SHOUT Festival is Birmingham’s annual festival of queer art & culture, taking place at venues across the city, The festival takes place annually in the Autumn and celebrates the work of LGBTQ+ artists and communities across the Midlands including theatre, comedy, drag shows, workshops, exhibitions and voguing balls.
Find out more about upcoming events at https://shoutfestival.co.uk
BFI Flare Festival - London - March
Queer Film Festival
Formerly known as the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (LLGFF), BFI Flare is the largest LGBTQ+ film festival in Europe. It takes place every spring in London, England. Organised and run by the British Film Institute, all BFI Flare screenings take place in the BFI Southbank with tickets starting at £5.
You can get tickets to screenings at https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/flare
Queer Bloomsbury - Lewes - September
Queer Art & Philosophy Festival
Queer Bloomsbury is a weekend-long event celebrating contemporary queer identities, politics and desires. It brings together emerging and established voices from across the LGBTQ+ community, challenging the status quo and imagining new ways of living - just as the Bloomsbury group did a century ago.
Find out more at https://www.charleston.org.uk/festival/queer-bloomsbury-2024/
Outburst Arts Festival - Belfast - November
Queer Arts Festival
Outburst is a nine-day international art festival in Belfast that showcases the best in new queer performance, literature, film, music, digital creativity, dance and visual arts. It’s a sharing point for artists, thinkers and participants with events including opera, art markets, theatre, film and workshops.
Check out upcoming events at this year's festival here: https://outburstarts.com/
Body Movements - London - August
Queer Dance & Art Festival
Body Movements is a London-based queer dance festival that celebrates queer bodies in club culture, and has a focus on electronic music. From their roots as a DIY, radical queer gathering, sprawling across 15 spaces in hackney wick, Body Movements is now an open-air day festival amongst the trees of Southwark park. Tickets start at £20 (plus booking fee)
Take a look at this year's lineup here: https://bodymovements.co.uk/
Pride Comic Art Festival - Bristol - September
Queer Comic & Art Festival
Pride Comic Art Festival (PRIDE CAF) gives LGBTQA+ artists, writers and creators a place to exhibit and sell their work, and for the general public to discover new comics, zines, art and stories. It's a one-day event and usually includes talks throughout the day along with workshops to help inspire creativity. This event is FREE and open to all ages.
Why not get involved in PRIDE CAF by visiting their website here: https://pridecaf.co.uk/
Queer Spirit - Devon - August
Queer Spirituality Festival
Queer Spirit Festival is a non-profit, grassroots community event, run by volunteers, celebrating the creative magical spirit of LGBTQ+ people. Relax, play and make new friends, absorb the healing energy of nature, share your stories and explore new ideas and practices. The four-day camping festival includes performances, traders, healing workshops, sharing circles and therapy, as well as live music and performances.
Learn more about Queer Spirit here: https://queerspirit.net/
Queer East - London - April
Queer Film & Performance Festival
Queer East is a ten-day film festival centering LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts, and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia. Launched in 2020 in response to the lack of Asian representation in cinema, onstage, and behind the scenes, the festival takes places across multiple venues across London, exploring notions of what it means to be queer and Asian in the modern world.
Find out more and buy tickets to screenings here: https://queereast.org.uk/
LDN Queer Mart - London - Quarterly
Queer Market
LDN Queer Mart is a very queer, community-focused market event, held at various locations in London throughout the year. Their events offer queer artists and queer-owned small business owners to showcase their work, connect with attendees and other traders, and sell their products to the public. If you're a fan of beautiful art, supporting small businesses, and a general sense of queer joy, this one's definitely worth a visit.
Stay up to date, sign up to be a trader, or apply to volunteer by visiting their linktree here: https://linktr.ee/ldnqueermart
SQUIFF - Glasgow - October
Queer Film Festival
SQIFF (Scottish Queer International Film Festival) is a non-profit LGBTQ+ film festival that was set up back in 2015. Since then, SQUIFF has held its annual Film Festival in Glasgow every October, whilst also running events and screenings throughout the year. Their aim is to support marginalised groups within the LGBTQ+ community, provide networking opportunities for queer filmmakers, and build community through queer films.
Check out their upcoming events here: https://www.sqiff.org/
Homotopia - Liverpool - November
Queer Art & Culture Festival
Homotopia Festival is the UK’s longest-running LGBTQIA+ arts and culture festival. Every November, the Liverpool-based festival runs a month-long series of events and performances showcasing local, national, and international LGBTQIA+ artists and creatives. Events across the city include exhibitions. talks, screenings, live shows, workshops and parties. The festival is taking a break in 2024, but there's still lots happening the rest of the calendar year which you can find here: https://www.homotopia.net/
Homotopia also offers a 12-month support program for early career artists called QueerCore. The program offers support for LGBTQIA+ artists in the Liverpool City Region to grow, build connections and develop new ideas.
Learn more about Queercore here: https://www.homotopia.net/queercore/
The Queer Fringe Festival - Cardiff - June
Queer Art & Performance Festival
The Queer Fringe Festival is brand new this year (2024). Some of Cardiff's best venues and artists come together for a month of queer fringe events - including theatre, comedy, live music, film, drag, visual art exhibitions, dance, and digital arts. Run by the team behind The Queer Emporium, the festival is Wales's first queer fringe festival and with so many events happening across the month, you're bound to find time to attend at least a few.
You can find their program here: https://queerfringefestival.com/whats-on/
Queer Art Market - Manchester - Quarterly
Queer Market
Manchester Queer Art Market (MQAM) is a queer art market held quarterly at Feel Good Club that allows LGBTQ+ artists, creatives, and makers in the North West to show off their work. Run by a collective of queer makers and market lovers, their aim is to ensure that the market is accessible to all artists, regardless of financial barriers. If you get a chance to go to one of these events, do. The vibe is lovely, the people are amazing and the art is very very queer.
Find out when their next event is here: https://linktr.ee/mcrqueerartmarket
Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest - London - September
Queer DIY Art & Film Festival
Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest has been running in London since 2011 as an entirely volunteer-run organisation. Every autumn, they showcase an eclectic mix of films, arts and events celebrating LGBTIQA+ stories from around the world. From feature films to experimental installations, workshops and lively debates to wild parties, Fringe! hosts a multitude of diverse events to tickle every one of the senses.
Learn about this year's week-long festival here: https://www.fringefilmfest.com/
Leeds Queer Film Festival - Leeds - March
Queer Film Festival
Leeds Queer Film Festival is a DIY festival run by and for the LGBTQ+ community in Leeds. It combines queer cinema with group discussions, workshops, and talks, raising awareness about current issues of relevance to the community, along with other activities, crafts, and food. It's an annual five-day event that runs every spring, perfect for anyone with a love of queer cinema and open discussion.
Submissions for next year's festival are currently open and can be found here: https://www.leedsqueerfilmfestival.co.uk/
Queerfest - Norwich - February
Queer Art Festival
Queerfest is a month-long LGBTQ+ festival held annual in Norwich every February to coincide with LGBT+ History Month. It's a celebration of LGBTQ+ artists, makers, filmmakers, and performers with a whole bunch of film screening, markets, events, workshops and talks. A wonderful place to find new art, new ideas and queer joy.
Check out what's on next February, along with a selection of Pride events here: https://queerfestnorwich.uk/
The Coast Is Queer - Brighton - October
Queer Book Festival
The Coast is Queer is Brighton’s annual festival of LGBTQ+ writing taking place over a long weekend each October. The first of its kind in the UK, the festival creates a space for queer readers, writers and allies to come together in a grassroots celebration of the written word and its ability to illuminate and enrich the life of the LGBTQ+ community.
Sign up for their mailing list and stay up to date on the festival here: https://coastisqueer.com/
The Queer Campfire - Multiple Locations - June
Queer Camping Festival
Running since the summer of 2021, The Queer Campfire was predominantly created as a safe space for LGBTQIA+ women, trans and non-binary people to join together for a weekend of camping somewhere in the middle of the UK. Past locations have included Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and The Vale of Belvoir. Each year the camping festival picks a location and a line-up of diverse queer talent and workshops for you to enjoy, getting back to basics in nature and creating connections.
Sound like fun? Grab yourself tickets for next year's event here: https://www.thequeercampfire.co.uk/
The Canny Queer Collective - Newcastle - Quarterly
Queer Markets & Live Performances
Based in Newcastle, The Canny Queer Collective hosts a quarterly LGBTQ+ fayre featuring local sellers, open-mic performances and live music. The group also host casual events throughout the year, as well as an annual mini music festival in the summer platforming LGBTQ+ artists (they're taking a break in 2024 but we hope it'll return next year).
Stay up to date with their events here: https://www.instagram.com/cannyqueercollective/
Have we missed a queer festival or market near you? Want to add your event to our list? Ping us a message over on Instagram @ProudGeekStore or email us at contact@proud-geek.co.uk ✌
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