Antwerp Queer Arts Festival returns with a month of queer artistic activities in Antwerp. Sometimes it’s just in the name. Antwerp Queer Arts Festival 2025 runs from Saturday 2 to Saturday 30 August. As usual, it’s intertwined with Antwerp Pride.

The Antwerp Queer Arts Festival has been celebrating gender and sexual diversity through art since 2014. The AQAF is a multidisciplinary arts festival that questions gender and sexual diversity. It combines art with activism and academia. 

“Since 2014, we have been programming both local performers and international talent across a variety of art forms: music, literature, film, dance, theatre, exhibitions, and performances. We work with open calls and have a particular interest in new queer talent. Collaborating with academia and activists, we create a space and platform for people to express themselves and connect with others”, AQAF says. 

AQAF is a grassroots initiative. It relies on community support to create the spaces and representation that we need. Your ticket purchase or donations directly support queer performers.

Museumnacht — Queer comPASSION — MAS — 2 August 2025 — 10:00 PM

During Museumnacht or Museum Night, the Museum At the Stream (MAS) presents its temporary exhibition ‘COMPASSION‘, which explores the many aspects of compassion. The Antwerp Queer Choir performs a preview of its Johann Sebastian Bach chorales, which it will perform during ‘queerPassion‘ at the Antwerp Opera on 22 August. Überdiva Grigri y El Macho Fantastico raise the roof — and much more.

Expo — HUB — Arttelex — 6 August 2025 — 2:00 PM–6:00 PM

For several years, AQAF has invited young artists for a residence or queer lab. The result can be seen during A Night Called Quest. A number of visual artists from this and previous editions show their work in a group exhibition at Arttelex.

Expo — Dingen die niet verkopen — 6 August 2025 — 2:00 PM–6:00 PM

For several years, AQAF has invited young artists for a residence or queer lab. The result can be seen during A Night Called Quest. A number of visual artists from previous editions show their work in a group exhibition at Dingen Die Niet Verkopen.

Compassion Can Save Queer Lives — MAS — 6 and 7 August 2025 — 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

Alex Ottenwaelter from Berlin is creating a vibrant mural that shows queer strength, joy and solidarity. The flexible design invites participation and dialogue, with workshops that celebrate visibility and connection in the public space.

Who Cares — MAS — 7 August 2025 — 5:00 PM–5:30 PM

Access to care for queers, in particular for trans people, is a persistent concern. Bert Roman addresses this from his experience as a queer nurse in the United Kingdom. He performs a shortened version of his piece ‘Who Cares‘.

Nonbinary — MAS — 7 August 2025 — 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

‘Nonbinary‘ is an audiovisual interactive exhibition that shows gender as a fluid spectrum, intertwined with culture and history. Through research, interviews and interactive maps, it reveals many often invisible non-binary experiences across the world and challenges understanding.

Who Cares — MAS — 7 August 2025 — 7:00 PM–7:30 PM

Access to care for queers, in particular for trans people, is a persistent concern. Bert Roman addresses this from his experience as a queer nurse in the UK. He performs a shortened version of ‘Who Cares’. 

After this particular performance, there is a panel discussion with Bert Roman and The Pink Cube, moderated by MAS curator Marion Wasserbauer.

Queer Shorts — De Cinema — 8 August 2025 — 8:30 PM

Five powerful queer short films about identity, love, gender and the body — from tender animation to raw, intimate stories — featuring bold and moving voices from Japan, Belgium, Canada, India and France.

Interview with a Notorious Wild Cat — MAS — 8 August 2025 — 2:00 PM–6:45 PM

‘Interview with a Notorious Wild Cat‘ (2021) is a video installation by Tristan Elísabet Birta about a hybrid creature — human and lynx — that explores the experience of living in a changing body. 

Seductive, strange and a source of both price and shame — something that cannot be fully understood nor defined — the installation comes to life through a performance by the artist.

Compassion Can Save Queer Lives — MAS — 8, 9, 10 August 2025 — 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

Alex Ottenwaelter (Berlin) is creating a vibrant mural that shows queer strength, joy and solidarity. The flexible design invites participation and dialogue, with workshops to celebrate visibility and connection in the public space.

Nonbinary — MAS — 9, 10 August 2025 — 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

‘Nonbinary’ is an audiovisual interactive exhibition that shows gender as a fluid spectrum, intertwined with culture and history. Through research, interviews and interactive maps, it reveals many often invisible non-binary experiences across the world and challenges understanding.

Workshop — Queer Drawing & Interaction with Clay — Middelheim — 10 August 2025 — 2:00 PM–6:00 PM

On 10 August, masharu’s performance ‘Intercourse with Clay‘ inspires this workshop. This performative intervention focuses on the relationship between body and earth — intimate, earthly and transformational. 

masharu invites participants to slow down, appreciate texture and connect through clay.

Expo — HUB — Arttelex — 11,12, 15, 16, 17 August 2025 — 2:00 PM–6:00 PM

For several years, AQAF has invited young artists for a residence or queer lab. The result can be seen during A Night Called Quest. A number of visual artists from this edition show their work in a group exhibition at Arttelex.

Shakedown — De Cinema — 14 August 2025 — 8:15 PM

The lesbian strip club Shakedown, founded by and for Afro-American women, was a rare space where its community could experience total sexual freedom. ‘Shakedown‘ by Leilah Weinraub captures the raw, dream-like atmosphere of this Californian venue in intimate and remarkable footage.

Workshop — Queer Drawing & Interview with a Notorious Wild Cat — Middelheim — 17 August 2025 — 2:00 PM–6:00 PM

In this model-drawing workshop, in collaboration with Middelheim Museum, participants view models from a queer perspective. Artist Caro Orcaro, known for her Queer Love Drawing workshops, invites them to see the human body — and drawing itself — in a new way. The workshop starts with a video installation ‘Interview with a Notorious Wild Cat’.

queerPassion — Antwerp Opera — 22 August 2025 — 8:00 PM

“Nichts ist vollbracht”. queerPassion reworks Bach’s ‘St. John Passion‘ into a powerful tribute to queer life and loss. The performance includes new texts, historical stories and the Antwerp Queer Choir. After the performance, there is a conversation about its impact.

Performance — ANCQ — De Studio — 29 August 2025 — 8:00 PM

Eleven young makers invite the audience into their festival within a festival. ‘ANCQ‘ offers a rich blend of performance, visual art, poetry, dance, installation and activism — from intimate textile collages to emancipatory scenography, delicate dance improvisations and strong political expression.

queerPassion Rehearsal — MAS — 6 August 2025 — 7:00 PM

Audiences are invited to preview ‘queerPassion’ at the MAS. They are welcomed by MAS programmer Laur Dillen. 

There is a panel discussion with Isaak Duerinck (Antwerp Queer Choir), Anthony Bastos (singer-researcher) and Michael Hell (musical direction of ‘queerPassion’) about the place of queerness in classical music.

Drop-in participatory artwork — Our Exquisite Corpse — MAS — 6 August 2025 — 6:00 PM–10:00 PM

Waiting for transgender care in the Netherlands and Belgium can take years. ‘Our Exquisite Corpse‘ transforms this endless wait into a participatory art project — a quilt made up of minutes — adding up to a total of 1,314,900 minutes — to collectively reflect upon this experience. 

Visitors are encouraged to wait together and contribute their time.

Drop-in participatory artwork — Our Exquisite Corpse — MAS — 7, 8 August 2025 — 2:00 PM–7:00 PM

Waiting for transgender care in the Netherlands and Belgium can take years. ‘Our Exquisite Corpse’ transforms this endless wait into a participatory art project — a quilt made up of minutes — adding up to a total of 1,314,900 minutes — to collectively reflect upon this experience. Visitors are encouraged to wait together and contribute their time.

Panel — Breaking the Binary — MAS — 8 August 2025 — 7:15 PM–8:45 PM

Gender equality is one of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and a legal objective in Belgium. 

Nevertheless, the debate often gets stranded in surface details, polarisation and controversy. The panel invites artists Tristan Birta and masharu for a deep reflection on gender identity.

Antwerp Pride 2025

• VIDEO | Red Sebastian’s ‘Slay’ designated official anthem for Antwerp Pride 2025.
• ANTWERP PRIDE 2025 THEME | Do Not Just March.
• Antwerp Pride 2025’s theme: “Do not just march! Listen. Understand. Commit.”.
• Antwerp Pride 2025 from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 August.

Antwerp Queer Arts Festival 2025

• ANTWERP QUEER ARTS FESTIVAL 2025 | ‘QueerPassion’, inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach.
• Antwerp Queer Arts Festival broadens horizon to Bruges and Leuven.

Darklands 2025-2026

• Darklands organiser calls out unnecessary rules other events aren’t subjected to.
• GAY ANTWERP | Darklands 2026 becomes Beyond Darklands.
• GAY ANTWERP | Darklands 2026 changes name and concept, but keeps Waagnatie as venue.
• Darklands 2025 aims at actively welcoming FLINTA people.
• DARKLANDS 2025 | Programme & schedule highlights.
• Darklands 2025 drops token payment system in favour of top-up Darkband.
• ANTWERP | Darklands to leave Waagnatie after 2025.
• Darklands 2025 from Tuesday 25 February until Monday 3 March.
• Darklands 2025 theme: ‘Darklands Glows’, stays at Waagnatie until 2030.

The latest on LGBTQIA+ events such as prides in Belgium

• Bruges Pride Parade 2025 on Saturday 14 June.
• Mons Pride 2025 on Saturday 31 May.
• BRUSSELS | Pride Museum takes over MIMA from 15 June to 15 July with ‘What About Queer?’.
• NAMUR PRIDE 2025 | Pride Day, Solidarity March and community celebration.
• BRUSSELS PRIDE 2025 | Forbidden Colours calls out EU pinkwashing as Commission participates in pride but abandons LGBTQIA+ in Hungary.
• Pride Express links Ghent, Brussels and Antwerp to Pride Amsterdam on Saturday 2 August 2025.
• Leuven Pride 2025 on Saturday 27 September.
• ANTWERP PRIDE 2025 THEME | Do Not Just March.
• Darklands organiser calls out unnecessary rules other events aren’t subjected to.
• Queer March Ghent 2025 from 1 to 31 March.
• Limburg Pride composes anthem for first edition.
• Belgium to host Eurovision Song Contest 2026? But in which city?.
• PinX LGBTQIA+ Film Festival in Ghent and in Antwerp from 29 January to 2 February 2025.
• ANTWERP 2025-2030 | City government agreement supports bid for EuroGames in Antwerp in 2028.
• Liège Pride 2025 on Friday 22, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 August.
• CHARLEROI PRIDE | Three days of inclusivity and festivities.