Exposure, Edmonton’s Queer Arts and Culture Festival, launched just last year. Its overwhelming success has brought it back once again for what organizers hope to make an annual occurrence. The festival lasts nine days, and covers a huge array and virtually all disciplines of arts and queer culture, kicking off with the 17th annual Loud & Queer Cabaret produced by Guys in Disguise and Workshop West Theatre. The two evenings showcasing queer theatre, music, poetry and dance are hosted by Edmonton diva, Darrin Hagen. The festival runs from Friday November 14th, and ends on Saturday the 22nd.

The festival was an initiative of Michael Phair, who is best known in Edmonton as five term City Councilor. With an E-mail in early spring, Phair was able to rally together a committee in less than a month that would be responsible for organizing this event; twenty five volunteers collaborating with queer arts and culture organizations, venues, and queer artists, brought to life this new addition to Edmonton’s cultural scene.

The festival will be highlighted by events covering such themes such as human rights, transexuality, queer youth and homosexual history. It will also span a number of different mediums, including film, photography, painting, poetry and spoken word, music, performing arts, with discussion panels and more.

Presentations will include international personalities such as the legendary and influential artist AA Bronson (formerly of General Idea), writer/poet Eli Clare, peace activist James Loney, Vancouver filmmaker Gwen Haworth, video artist Wayne Yung, alongside local artists like printmaker Anthea Black, playwright Jonathan Seinen, writer Jocelyn Brown, and Calgary performance artist Wednesday Lupypciw.

Some more event highlights:

• Transgender Day of Remembrance, an evening featuring the poetry of Eli Clare, the voices of Edmonton Vocal Minority and members of Edmonton’s Transgender community honouring the memory of trans identified people who have passed away due to stigma, discrimination and violence.

• TRANSgressions, a visual arts exhibition of three transgender artists, Mercedes Allen, Denby Jorgensen, and Chris Buffalo, and SCREENING THE T, will both pay tribute to the transgender community.

• The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) will play home to You Are Here: A queer youth art exhibit, an exhibit exploring ideas around location, geography and a sense of self in relation to growing up queer.

• Coffee with James, Prisoner in Iraq: Experiences of a Gay, Christian, Peace Activist will undoubtedly be a moving and insightful lecture by James Loney, a Canadian peace activist who was kidnapped by Iraqi insurgents. He was held for 118 days before being freed in a clandestine operation by multinational troops, all the while the media was aware of his homosexuality but cooperated in keeping it secret.

• Writer Jocelyn Brown will share her research on Edmonton’s first female councilor Margaret Crang who was involved in an RCMP sting surrounding a “ring of homosexuals operating between Vancouver and Edmonton” at an event called Alleged Depraved Individuals: Edmonton’s queer scandal of ‘42.

• You Sleigh Me is an all ages, family event – a one hour family sleigh ride at Fort Edmonton Park in partnership with PFLAG: Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

• A beach themed dance, entitled No Pants Dance Party, promises to knock your socks off not to mention your pants (so don’t even bother wearing them). It features local musicians Blind Tiger, Tiger, Micro Bot, You’re An Acorn, and Mo Lefever as Brian Wilson.

• Visual arts presentations include: Wayne Yung 1000 Flowers and Travis McEwen I Bet They Can Tell Just By Looking at Latitude 53; Hot Topic vs. Wednesday Lupypciw with The Ladies in the Back Room featuring Wednesday Lupypciw, Kirsten McCrea, and Corissa O’Donnell at The Artery; Sarah Race Live a Bit More at Naked Cyber Café and Espresso Bar; jackson photografix Abstract Nudes at 29 Armstrong;

• Bathhouse, will be a special one night only event on Tuesday, November 18th, whereby 20 artists will transform local bathhouse Steamworks into an orgy of art, commentary, inclusion and exploration.

Exposure 2008 will conclude in high style with NOIR, a party to explore your dark side at the Starlight Room. Come dressed in your night-time finest, masked or not - it promises to be an unforgettable, otherworldly event with proceeds from ticket sales to support Exposure 2009.

So this month, head out and expose yourself to all that Exposure has to offer!

Exposure: Edmonton’s Queer Arts and Culture Festival

Sponsored by GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine

Nov 14th to 22nd, 2008

Edmonton, AB

See their ad on page 64.

www.exposurefestival.ca