The Queer Spectra Arts Festival is back for its 4th annual festival on Saturday, May 21, 2022. Queer Spectra Arts Festival will be in-person at Sunset Studios from 12pm-9pm. As part of Queer Spectra’s mission to build spaces for creative engagement, audiences will have opportunities to connect with artists participating in the festival, explore the gallery space, and attend live performances featuring queer dance, film, and poetry.
Queer Spectra Arts Festival is co-organized by Max Barnewitz (they/them), Emma Sargent (she/her or they/them), Arin Lynn (they/them), Rosa Bandeirinha (she/they), and Aileen Norris (they/she). Queer Spectra’s mission is to challenge and contribute to contemporary understanding of queer discourse while promoting nuanced conversations between artists and audiences about queer identity and art.
The theme the 2022 Festival is “Tell It Like It Is,” which borrows from bell hooks, and alludes to the truths queer art can tell. The theme prompts artists to explore the ways art can expose authenticity and honest experiences, and what possibilities queer art imagines.
Max Barnewitz co-founded Queer Spectra with Norris, Sargent, and artist Dat Nguyen in 2019. Barnewitz believes that “QSAF is a unique festival in that it brings together queer artists of all creative disciplines, many of whom may face barriers to showing their work in more conventional art spaces. By uniting diverse practices and perspectives, QSAF is creating a positive space for important conversations that have rippling effects throughout our communities in terms of representation and inclusivity.”
Queer Spectra Arts Festival is free to attend. This year’s festival presents an array of different artistic activities. The program includes live and recorded performances, panel discussions, and a keynote presentation by local poet Wynter Storm. Audiences can also participate in two different workshops led by artists Rogelio Peña and Rachael Jenkins.
Queer Spectra Arts Festival is dedicated to the safety and health of our community. Masks are required and attendance may be capped for COVID-19 safety purposes. Attendees are encouraged to sign up for performances and workshops in advance on the Queer Spectra website (www.queerspectra.com/festival-details-2022). ASL interpreters and a sensory accessible break space will be available, and festival materials will be available in a virtual gallery starting May 22nd.