Feature image credit: muralroutes.ca | “I am a human being” – Matt Hans Schroeter
The colours have come out, and there’s a sense of renaissance in the air! It’s not just Spring—Pride Month is in full swing across Canada, and celebrations of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community abound! From discovering and supporting artists to special public events and festivals to inspiring community organizations, here’s just a small list of exciting art and culture being made by the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities throughout Metro Vancouver and Whistler.
Artists Making a Difference
Ritesh Matlani
Surrey-based floral designer and filmmaker Ritesh Matlani is telling his personal story through petals. His in-demand floral arrangements are airy and whimsical, while at the same time exploring important themes such as queer mythology, identity, and the emotional undercurrents of the South Asian diaspora. Born and raised in the Middle East, of Indian heritage, Matlani draws on the experience of his cultural background in a foreign place, infusing it with the beauty of the meadows and forests of his adopted homeland.
Credit: Ritesh Matlani (@riteshmatlani via IG)
Saghi Ehteshamzadeh (she/they)
Blending pixelated nostalgia with sharp-edged social commentary, Saghi Ehteshamzadeh is a queer interdisciplinary artist and curator making waves in the Vancouver art scene. Born in Tehran, Ehteshamzadeh channels their lived experience navigating disabilities and advocating for social justice, particularly within Iran and the ongoing struggle for wxmen’s equality, into bold new media that fuses lo-fi video textures with glitchy digital nature-scapes and retro archives, creating live performances and installations that feel like both protest and poetry at once.
Credit: saghi.ca
Kay Slater (they/them/theirs)
Kay Slater is a queer, non-binary artist—a self described “Creative Problem Solver”—whose practice spans mediums of sculpture, illustration, writing, videography, game development, and more. Their work focuses on themes around accessibility, mental health, and the riches to be found in the process of creation over its outcome. Slater’s art is often informed by their adoption of the New Sincerity philosophy that favours personal truth over irony, and a belief that true liberation can’t come until Black and Indigenous, Trans, Deaf, Disabled and Sick voices are set free.
Credit: thepapercutarcade.ca
T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss (she/her/they/them)
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Stó:lō, and Hawaiian artist and educator, T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss draws upon her ethnobotanist background to merge traditional ecological knowledge with contemporary art across multiple disciplines, often public and interactive. Through their art, Cease seeks to share Indigenous customs and traditions, and what they can teach us about our contemporary conditions as well as our collective future. Deeply collaborative, Cease is building community through their creative projects that focus on land preservation, remediating Indigenous species and natural spaces, and nurturing local biodiversity respectfully and sustainably.
Credit: tuyttanatceasewyss.ca
Matt Hans Schroeter (he/him/his)
With a varied background working creatively with products and brands, Matt Hans Schroeter brings both technical skill and collaborative insight to his artistic work. A proud community member of Vancouver’s West End, Schroeter offers his talents to organizations in need. You can find his work in design for Gordon Neighbourhood House, and in social events organized by Young Ideas that foster connection among young adults in Vancouver. Or, you could walk down Denman Street to his mural there entitled I am a human being that honours gay rights activist and drag queen Ted Northe, and serves as a colourful inspiring reminder of the long-standing fight for equality in Canada, and the power in keeping that momentum going.
Credit: matthanns.com
Out & About
Queer Arts Festival – Portals | Vancouver
June 6 – 28, 2025
The 2025 Queer Arts Festival invites you to step through Portals—a city-wide art exhibition that explores thresholds queer and trans people cross in search of self, community, and a bright future. Co-presented with Centre A and curated by the Pride in Art Society, Portals also leads to stories from the diaspora where queerness, migration and belonging converge. In a time when queer and trans voices are increasingly under threat, this boundary-pushing exhibition uses imagination to inspire the resistance. Admission is free or by donation, and locations vary, so keep an eye on the QAF website for info and maps.
Credit: queerartsfestival.com | Christian Yves Jones, Still from Where Are You From? (2025)
Magical Misfits Market | Vancouver
June 15, 2025
Part queer art fair, part daydream, the Magical Misfits Market is back for its second Pride Month edition. This market lands on Father’s Day, June 15 from 2:30 to 6:30 PM, so it’s a great way to get out and celebrate family—however you define it. AKASAH (Passion Portal, PURR events) presents this community-oriented event at Beaumont Studios that will feature live music, DJ sets, tarot readings, local art, magic!, and eccentric handmade goods in a space that celebrates queer joy, childlike wonder and imagination. Tickets are on sale now right here.
Credit: thebeaumontstudios.com
Everyone is Gay! Comedy Show | Vancouver’s North Shore
June 19, 2025
Have a gay old time at this one-off, pop-up comedy show on June 19, at North Point Brewery in The Shipyards Brewery District! Come As You Are combines belly laughs with beautiful drag for a night of bold, hilarious and unapologetic fun. Drag-pop-opera sensation Toddy will be there in all their glitter, as well as Steev Letts from JFL Northwest and the Grindstone Comedy Festival, all hosted by the inimitable July van der Sloot. Doors at 7, show at 8. Tickets are limited so don’t wait on this one.
Drag Show Vanchella #4 | Vancouver
June 28, 2025
The very best of Vancouver’s drag performers grace the stage at one of the city’s most storied gay clubs, Numbers in the iconic Davie Village, on June 28. Tickets available now for this hotly anticipated late show (10 PM), with two bars, a killer crowd and a ton of energy to keep you moving guaranteed.
Murder is a Drag: Dinner Date With Death | Vancouver
Put on your detective hat and pair it with your smartest shoes for an evening of whodunnit with Vancouver Mysteries. This interactive murder mystery dinner show mixes campy drag, a killer plot, and a three-course serving of very spicy drama. You’ll give live suspects the third-degree, hunt for clues and help crack the case at one of Vancouver’s most fab restaurants. Grab your tickets now for any one of three distinct shows around the city.
Credit: vancouvermysteries.com
Celebrate in the City
Surrey Pride 2025 | Surrey
June 28, 2025
The Surrey Pride Festival celebrates its 26th anniversary in 2025, with a day of love, laughter and celebration from 12 to 7 PM at the Surrey Civic Plaza. This year as part of the Pride Festival, QUIRK-E (Queer Imaging & Riting Kollective for Elders) presents Our Queer Legacy, a free all-ages show of original poems, visual art, music, readings and performance from the community’s queer seniors.
Credit: @sfusurrey (via IG)
Burnaby Pride | Burnaby
July 26, 2025
Pride Month extends into July in Burnaby, kicking off July 5 at the Pride Picnic in Maywood Park for a mellow afternoon of food, music and community for all ages. The Pride flag will be raised at City Hall on July 21 before the big celebration at the Civic Square on July 26. The Burnaby Pride Festival is its eighth fabulous year celebrating the diversity of Burnaby’s 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, families and supporters
Photo credit: burnabypride.com | DJ Moaning Lisa
Connected to Community
Whistler Rainbow Connection | Whistler
For all things Pride in Whistler, join the Whistler Rainbow Connection, that city’s social group for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, friends, family, and allies. You’ll stay up to date with year-round seasonal events such as Genderbread Holiday Party, Drag Bingo, movie screenings, walking in Vancouver’s Pride Parade, tubing during Whistler Pride week, gender-affirming clothing swaps, and more!
Love Intersections | Vancouver
Love Intersections is a media arts collective led by queer artists of colour using collaborative storytelling to challenge systemic racism and uplift underrepresented voices. Known especially for their award-winning film Drag is For Everyone, their work centers around authentic representation that builds trust, sparks dialogue and inspires meaningful change—always driven by love.
Credit: loveintersections.com
The James Black Gallery | Vancouver
Cozily housed in a heritage building in Mount Pleasant, The James Black Gallery is a queer-led arts and culture hub dedicated to nurturing the next wave of Vancouver’s multidisciplinary artists. Since 2104, The JBG has supported early-career artists through exhibitions, studio spaces, as well as a place for these artists to earn a living from their art. Check their website often for monthly events including workshops and guest residencies.
Credit: thejamesblack.gallery