We here at QAF + SUM are happy, excited, eager, and scared to announce Queer Arts Festival 2026: On the Edge! 🤺
Around the world, our communities are being pushed to the brink: rights stripped away, identities erased, futures uncertain. Yet the edges are also where transformation begins, where risk and reinvention thrive. 🎭
On the Edge asks what happens when we refuse to fall, when we linger in tension, desire, and anticipation — holding that charged space just a little longer before what comes next. 🫂
🗓️ June 5- 30, 2026
📍 Various locations
🔗 queerartsfestival.com
So if you’ve been feeling On the Edge lately, watch this space to see what the cards have in store… 🔮
Image credit: Cheryl Hamilton
Oontz oontz oontz oontz-oontz oontz! 🚨 Come out to the SUM Gallery this Saturday, May 16th from 1-2pm for a free free freeeeeeee Artist Talk with Jay Cabalu! 🤩
The artist behind our most stimulating exhibition yet will discuss his process of creating his signature collages and delve into the themes of consumerism and compliance running through hyperfiXation. 🛩️
This event is free to attend, but pre-registration is recommended as space is limited. Check out our Linktree for more!
hey all, if you’re confused about how to get to our gallery, here’s a handy video guide on how to reach us 🤭
a reminder that we are open to the public from tues-sat from 12pm-6pm during active exhibitions! see you around 👋🏽
Our future are bright this summer! 🔮🧙🏼♂️
We are looking for volunteers for QAF 2026: On the Edge, running June 5th-30th.
Volunteering with QAF is an amazing opportunity to connect with Vancouver’s Queer art scene and build your community! Festival volunteers get a free QAF t-shirt and a chance to win some magical prizes at our volunteer appreciation party on July 8th.
If you haven’t volunteered with us before, you can sign up now via our Better Impact page. If you’re signed up already, you’ll see various positions are now up for grabs, such as gallery hosts, box office support, bartending and merchandise table crew! We ask that NEW volunteers hold off on signing up for shifts until after attending one of our volunteer orientations, scheduled for Saturday May 31st and Tuesday June 3rd.
Find out more and sign up for shifts at the link in our bio!
“This show is a way of honouring queer elders and creating a sense of history,” Jaewoo Kang shares. “I hope [the audience] laugh all the way through.” 💕
Wonderful interview on Hearts & Boots by Jaewoo Kang with collaborative performers, Rhye McCorkindale and Romi Kim. Opening night is tomorrow, come join us for this work on a shared program with ‘Keepsakes’, a new duet created and performed by @shionskye & @elikamoj 💫
Thank you to all the wonderful folks who came to the opening of hyperfiXation last night. 🤩 We’re still buzzing from all the love! Jay Cabalu’s expansive solo show will be up at the SUM until May 29. 🛰️
If you couldn’t make it out yesterday, all is not lost. On May 16 Jay will be at the gallery to give an Artist Talk about his work as a response to capitalism, consumption, mass media, and pleasure — it may get a little meta…
And if you’d love to learn more about his practice, Jay will be running a hand-cut collaging workshop on the 23rd! Peep our Linktree for more! 💽
Less than a week away from opening night of Sam San Se, a shared program with works by:
🎀 Jaewoo Kang in collaboration with Rhye McCorkindale & Romi Kim
🍃 Shion Skye Carter & elika mojtabaei
We are at cuteness overload with these photos of Jaewoo, Rhye and Romi, but there are still tickets left!!
Date + Time 🗓️⏰: May 14-17, 7pm
Tickets 🎟️: Sliding scale $20-$40
Post-show chat: May 17
Generously supported by @cityofvancouver@bcartscouncil@canada.council
Hearts and Boots was created with collaborators: Erika Mitsuhashi and Reed Jackson.
The work premiered at @whatlab and for ahmm 2026, is presented in partnership with Pride In Arts Society and is supported at ahmm by @queerarts Photos: @lucianaphotography_vancouver
#ahmm2026 #ahmm #AsianHeritageMonth #vancouverevents #contemporarydance @oddmeridianarts@hereatmorrow
hyperfiXation opens tomorrow! Join us at SUM gallery for a free Opening Reception on Thursday, May 7 from 5–9pm.
In hyperfiXation, artist Jay Cabalu excavates his obsession with consumption and the exploitation of beauty in manufactured magazine images. Through a selection of hand-cut collages that employ scopophilia (taking pleasure in looking), he demonstrates how capitalism fabricates consent and compliance to material culture.
hyperfiXation runs until May 29 and is part of a suite of events at SUM gallery that celebrate Asian Heritage Month. This exhibition has been generously supported by The Parachute Fund.
Please note: To accommodate members of our community, from 5 – 6pm the Opening Reception will be masks mandatory, and from 6pm to closing the reception will be masks recommended. Masks and hand sanitizer will be provided at the reception desk.
Free registration for the opening reception can be found on our LinkTree, linked in our bio.
May 5th is Red Dress Day, the National Day of Awareness for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People. We honour and recognize the far-too many loved ones lost.
Today we bring attention to the ongoing violence faced by MMIWG2S, and call for meaningful change. Here are some actions you can take in solidarity:
🔺 wear red
🔺 hang a red dress outside
🔺 post, like, and share on social media
🔺 attend in-person rallies and events
🔺 read the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls
My solo exhibition hyperfiXation opens this Thursday, May 7, at SUM Gallery (@queerarts ). Join us for the opening reception from 5–9pm. It marks exactly four years to the day since my first solo exhibition, which took place next door, making this particularly meaningful. So excited to present this work, along with a very special new piece.
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Additional Programming:
Artist Talk: Saturday, May 16, 1pm
Collage Workshop: Saturday, May 23, 2pm
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Registration links: https://sumgallery.ca/hyperfixation-jay-cabalu/
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Sum Gallery is located at #425-268 Keefer St. (4th floor, Sun Wah Centre), Vancouver, BC
![“This show is a way of honouring queer elders and creating a sense of history,” Jaewoo Kang shares. “I hope [the audience] laugh all the way through.” Wonderful interview on Hearts & Boots by Jaewoo Kang with collaborative performers, Rhye McCorkindale and Romi Kim. Opening night is tomorrow, come join us for this work on a shared program with ‘Keepsakes’, a new duet created and performed by @shionskye & @elikamoj](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6727585352523055303655_0_df43df5eb0407e3a2c9043576911e7f0.jpg?o=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&h=6e9b2e5e39582dd1e69b419e56deceb0)
