Queer|Art kicks off NYC Pride with its 7th annual summer festival

NYC Pride Weekend is finally upon us and Queer|Art—a non-profit connecting and empowering LGBTQ+ artists—is ready to party. 

For its seventh annual summer festival Queer|Art|Pride, the org will be partnering with LGBTQ+ party series and collective Body Hack to take over Nowadays in Ridgewood for a two-part celebration on Friday, June 23. 

RECOMMENDED: The best LGBTQ+ things to do in New York for Pride Month

From 3pm to 8pm on Friday, attendees can enjoy a queer vendor fair in the venue's sprawling backyard, spotlighting local artisans, small queer businesses and trans-owned brands. Guests can browse clothing and accessories, original artworks, on-site tattoo services, tarot and astrology readings and more. After shopping, take part in three-minute meetups during queer speed dating and hear a live reading of and discussion about JesusDevil: The Parables, the new book from Black queer feminist scholar Alexis De Veaux.

Then, from 8pm to 6am, the event will transform into one of Body Hack's infamous happy hour parties, powered with late-night beats by DJs including Archangel, Battyjack, Cisne, Deathrayz, DJ Delish, Soo Intoit, Sp3cial K, Zolita, Zaida Zane, and 8ulentina. Advance tickets have sold out but day-of tickets will be available at the door. 

The event will fundraise three BIPOC trans-led organizations working to protect trans people in states most affected by anti-trans violence and legislation: inTRANSitive (Little Rock, AK), The McKenzie Project (Miami, FL) and TKO Society (Selma, AL).

Body Hack parties have raised over $300,000 for trans-related initiatives since forming in 2018. Organizers released in a statement: “We believe in prioritizing a mindset of abundance over scarcity. We believe that trans people are brilliantly resourceful and that we don’t need to depend on people who don’t understand or value who we are and what we do in order to survive. We strive to build interdependence within our communities, we can get what we need by supporting one another. We refuse to be respectable in our fundraising, we can be our whole selves when we ask for support and when we give it. We believe organizing should be fun and feel fulfilling in order to be sustainable. We honor the long-standing relationship our communities have to nightlife—as a refuge and space to seek pleasure and possibility.”