It’s no secret that Madison is an LGBTQIA2S+ friendly haven with queerness touching all aspects of what makes this city great. No matter what you’re experiencing, chances are there’s queer representation in some form or (literal) fashion.
Want to see a punk show at Mickey’s? One of the bands probably has a queer on bass. Interested in looking at some local paintings? One of the many exhibitions on display at Art + Literature Laboratory will probably be by a queer identifying artist. Craving open mic? One of the speakers at Mad City Story Slam will probably be there with their polycule.
There are a million examples of probably in Madison, but what about the spaces that will absolutely be queer? Do they exist? Well, fear not! I’ve collected a few tried and true examples of reliably queer art scenes here in Madison that you can keep in your back pocket when you don’t wanna risk seeing an all-straight art situation (gag)!
Jump around to learn more about reliably queer art spaces:
Hot Summer Gays & Dyke Dive
DJ Sarah Akawa, the mind behind Hot Summer Gays and Dyke Dive events, is queen when it comes to putting on a good show for and by our community. Queer DJs and performers? Check! Themed nights throughout the year? Check! Partnering with organizations that don’t want to just profit off the queer community and who actually prioritize safety? Cheeeeck! If Sarah’s name is on the bill, you can bet it's gonna be a hot, gay time.
See all upcoming shows posted on the Hot Summer Gays Instagram!
Giant Jones Brewing Co. and Delta Beer Lab
Not only are Giant Jones Brewing Co. and Delta Beer Lab famous for their trans & queer ownership and delicious beers, they also have dedicated wall space for local queer artists that rotate each month. Breweries may not be your first thought for finding good art, but they often serve as more accessible venues to the community than formal art galleries (both for the broader hours of operation, and for the higher traffic). And what’s better than drinking beer made by queers while admiring queer art from a local queer artist??
You can find all of Giant Jones Brewing’s events here, and Delta Beer Lab’s events here!
The Big Gay Market and Magic Pride Festival
Owning queer art from a local queer is the only way to ensure the art you're bringing home is reliably queer, and we’re blessed with two major markets in Madison that help connect the community with queer art vendors every year! The Big Gay Market happens four times a year (March, June, October and December) and the annual Magic Pride Festival is in August. Both markets prioritize queer artists and makers, both fundraise to help OutReach’s LGBTQ Community Center, both showcase local drag artists and both help keep keep money in the pockets of our queer community.
If you’re boycotting corporations, put these events in your calendar so you can get your essentials from people who care about your livelihood and wellbeing! This way, you can avoid giving money to people who don't even know how to spell “queer."
You can find The Big Gay Market’s schedule here, and Magic Pride Festival’s information here!
StageQ and CapitalQ Theatre Festival
While one could argue that all theater is a little queer, we’re incredibly lucky to have StageQ, a dedicated theater company for queer actors, directors and playwrights here in Madison. All of their programming has an LGBTQIA+ element, with performances held all year at the Bartell Community Theater downtown. For two weekends in June every year, StageQ hosts CapitalQ Theatre Festival (formerly known as Queer Shorts), which presents brand new “10-minute shorts and one-act plays by up-and-coming queer playwrights from around the country” with accessible sliding scale rates.
Ready to start planning what queer shows to see this season? You can see their full event schedule here!
A Room of One’s Own Bookstore
What would we do without A Room of One’s Own Bookstore? Queer and trans owned. Supportive of and prioritizing queer and trans authors and artists. Now hosting a queer and trans open mic so we can hear and breathe and live the words of local queer and trans poets???? Is this heaven??? I can’t say enough good things about Room and saved it for last because it’s perhaps the most reliably queer space in the world, much less in Madison! Walk in, say, “point me to the queer shit,” and watch the compass as it spins and spins and spins because, babe, it’s everywhere at A Room of One’s Own.
Queer and Trans Open Mic Night is the last Wednesday of every month. You can see their full event schedule here!
