Don’t miss the 2018 Fall Gala – Nov 3!

We’re less than two weeks away from this year’s Fall Gala, the fabulous art auction and cocktail party supporting Out In Schools and the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. This year’s fundraising auction will feature works from local artists Jaik Puppyteeth, Christopher Tamas Kovacs, Michela Sorrentino, Ann Goldberg, and David Burdeny – do you have your tickets yet?

The 2018 Fall Gala is presented by TD Bank Group as part of a new three-year sponsorship of Out On Screen. The fundraiser will also feature performances by drag sensations Shay Dior, Maiden China, and Karmella Barr.

“Our Fall Gala represents the best of LGBT2Q+ communities, auctioning art to raise funds so we can showcase the finest in queer film,” says Executive Director Stephanie Goodwin. “It’s a contested time for queer, trans, and two-spirit communities across BC and globally. Art is a key medium for communicating not only the joy and celebration in LGBT2Q+ lives, but also for expressing political commentary.”

Political commentary is centred in many of the works in this year’s art auction, including the brilliantly evocative “In Gay We Trust” by New York-based, Montreal-born Nadine Faraj. The piece is a hallmark of Faraj’s lush, daring watercolour figurative work that reinterprets identity for an age when gender and sexuality is part of a more expansive and colourful spectrum. Alongside Faraj’s work, two smartly sassy comic illustrations by Jaik Puppyteeth, a social satirist with a LGBTQ comical and camp bent to his work, will be featured in addition to key pieces by David Burdeny, Anda Kubis, and Ann Goldberg. Regular contributor Stev’nn Hall, a Hamilton-based artist with a big solo show opening next month in Boston, has also donated a gorgeous waterlily mixed media piece to support the fundraiser to benefit Out In Schools.

“We’re facing unprecedented demand for our programming,” says Gavin Somers, Out In Schools’ Program Coordinator. Out In Schools is booked solid through to December 2018 and is already fielding requests for presentations and tours beyond the Lower Mainland into 2019. “We’re aiming to visit new school districts this year and the money raised at the Fall Gala will help us support those young people.”

Tickets for the November 3 event are just $50, but VIP tickets are available for $100. Premium ticket holders get early access to the venue for an intimate reception and the opportunity to set the opening bid for their choice pieces. Tickets are available online – get yours today!