A brand new LGBTQ+ Arts Festival is taking place across Nottingham from 21 October to 2 November, celebrating the diversity and creativity of LGBTQ+ artists and communities. We took a closer look at some highlights of this very special celebration of queer arts and culture.
Queer Up Duck! focuses on uplifting and showcasing the work of LGBTQ+ artists and fostering a sense of community and pride among attendees. It features dozens of events over a fortnight at venues which include Nottingham Playhouse, Broadway Cinema, City Arts, Nottingham Central Library, FABRIC and Gasleak Mountain.
"The launch of Queer Up Duck! is a significant moment for Nottingham’s arts scene and the LGBTQ+ community,” said Jake Orr, Creative Producer of JOP Arts and lead producer of the festival. “Celebrating the diversity of arts and the LGBTQ+ community outside of Pride month, Queer Up Duck! is giving a platform for incredible artists across the region to meet with their community. Our goal is to celebrate being LGBTQ+ through a mixed-arts programme at venues across the city giving audiences and artists the space to be creative,"
Full details of all events are available on their website, but we’ve picked out half a dozen of them for you below.
The Personal Is Political: A history of queer activism in Nottingham
When: 6-7pm, Wednesday 23 October
Where: FABRIC
How much: £4
Nottingham has always had a strong history of queer activism throughout the decades. Author and LeftLion History Editor CJ DeBarra will guide you through this. They founded the Notts Queer History Archive in 2022 which has created an oral history collection to be housed in London and Nottingham. Their first book, Neuroqueer was published in 2023 and they are releasing two more books, covering the history of the LGBTQ+ movement in Nottingham from 1960-2020, through Five Leaves Publishing next year.
Notts LGBTQ+ Heroes
When: Thursday 24 October - Saturday 2 November
Where: City Arts
How much: Free
A special exhibition celebrating the inspiring individuals who have made a lasting impact on Nottingham’s LGBTQ+ community. Voted for by the public, this exhibition features portrait photography of each hero, capturing their essence and the passion that drives them to create change. Displayed in the Gallery Window at City Arts, these portraits highlight the diverse stories and journeys of those who continue to uplift and inspire others within the community.
LGBTQ+ Storytime with Oly Pike’s Pop’n’Olly
When: Saturday 26 October
Where: Nottingham Central Library
An engaging and lively storytime performance, sharing stories that celebrate individuality, challenge stereotypes, and inspire kids to be true to themselves. The session will also include a few sing-along songs. Afterwards participants can dive into a range of creative activities, including making rainbow cat ears, Pride flags, rainbow bracelets and more. All materials will be provided, just bring yourself and your imagination.
Weekend (Film screening)
When: Tuesday 29 October
Where: Broadway Cinema
How much: £5-11
Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers was one of the breakout British films of last year. So it’s great to see his 2011 film, set on a single weekend in Nottingham, get another screening at Broadway a decade on from when we last watched it there. The film tells the story of when lifeguard Russell (Tom Cullen) meets conceptual artist Glen (Chris New) in a gay bar and they spend two days together, chatting, walking around town and having drug-and-booze-fuelled sex. Our magazine gets shown on screen more than once too. Fame!
Repping the Rainbow & Writing With Pride
When: Thursday 31 October r
Where: Broadway Cinema
A writers’ panel bringing together five LGBTQ+ authors to discuss the spectrum of queer storytelling. Through the event Simon Smalley, JP Preston, Victoria Villaseñor and Nicci Robinson will talk about the challenges and triumphs of representing LGBTQ+ identities in literature and creating narratives that resonate across different communities.
Queer Up Duck Comedy Showcase
When: Friday 1 November
Where: Squire Performing Arts Centre
A comedy show, run as part of Nottingham Comedy Festival, bringing together some of the funniest LGBTQ+ comedians from across the region. Headliner Alex Mitchell is a queer, autistic, disabled comic with a self-deprecating sense of humour and plenty of observational material. He recently made the finals of Britain’s Got Talent too. Performing alongside him are Edinburgh Fringe veterans Juliett Barton, Katie Mitchell and host Dan Webber.
You can find out more about the occasion or grab your tickets at queerupduck.co.uk.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
