For those of you who may not be in the know, Midsumma (Midsumma Festival) is Australia’s premier LGBTIQ+ cultural festival. Spanning over 22 incredibly camp days, Midsumma officially begins with the Midsumma Carnival (on the 23rd of January) and officially finishes with Melbourne Pride (on the 13th of February).
Interspersed between these two days are tens – nigh, hundreds – of queer arts and culture events made for any by communities who share experiences around diverse gender and sexuality. And 40% of the events are F R E E, which means that even those with little disposable income can be a part of the festivities.
But with so many events to choose from and so little time to attend them in, it can be difficult (if not downright daunting) to choose which events to go to. Fear not my fellow queeries, because all your Midsumma queries are about to be answered with A Modern Gay’s Guide to Midsumma 2022.
Oh, and for your ease, we’ve broken them into three categories – comedy, art, and social events.
GAY AS IN HAPPY (AND HOMOSEXUAL)
Gay as in Happy (and Homosexual) is one of our top picks for Midsumma 2022. It’s described as a brand-new hour of jokes and stories from one of Australia’s kindest homosexuals, John Robles, as he delivers insightful critical analysis on complex subjects such as blowjobs, funny British accents, and having ADHD.
Knowing John, we’re expecting quick, queer comedy and impeccable timing and delivery…but knowing John, we’re keeping our expectations to an absolute minimum (jk, he’s actually a really funny guy, and we’re honestly prepared to piss ourselves with laughter).
The Details: 7:00pm | Thursday, February 10 | Comedy Republic | Tickets here
HOT TIP: If you want a little taste of John’s comedy before you head to his show, we’d recommend heading to Comedy Republic the night before, where you’ll be able to catch improv duo Snake Pit (aka John Robles and Maddie Houlbrook-Walk) perform their show Cold-Blooded.
TWO QUEERS WALK INTO A BAR
After selling out their show for Midsumma in 2021, these two queers – Jenna Suffern and Brendan Hancock – are returning with double the trouble and putting on two shows with two separate line-ups at Comedy Republic.
These shows – on February 4 and 5 – will, of course, feature Suffern and Hancock. But, this year, their friends are coming along with them, including Sunanda, Samantha Andrew, Bea Barbeau-Scurla, Josh Glanc, Grace Hogan, Frankie McNair, Mel O’brien, Rosie Piper, Kirsty Webeck, and Vidya Rajan.
The Details: 8:30pm | February 4 & 5 | Comedy Republic | Tickets here
DRAG-A-THON
Brace yourselves because the 86’s annual Drag-A-Thon event is upon us. Unfamiliar? Well aren’t you in for a surprise.
Every year, iconic Smith Street venue ‘The 86’ hosts a day of non-stop drag. That’s right, nine glorious hours of drag. Doors open at midday, with the first open stage performance at 2pm, and a wrap-up time of midnight.
The 86’s Drag-A-Thon is a great chance to strut, shimmy and sync under stage lights and to a live audience in a celebratory safe space. To secure a performance time in one of the ‘open stage’ shows you need to register quickly as performance times are strictly limited and usually book out before the event.
The Details: 12:00pm | Sunday, February 13 | The 86 Cabaret Bar | Tickets here
This year there are SO many incredible art installations that it was impossible for us to only pick two or three. Instead, we tried our hardest and brought it down to five (and believe me you, culling those last few installations left us in physical pain).
The art installations we did manage to fit into this guide, however, include Reconstruct (The) Normative, Looking For Adam, O UT, Code Blak, and Miss First Nations Exhibition.
RECONSTRUCT (THE) NORMATIVE
A free art installation at Federation Square, Reconstruct (the) Normative is a moving exhibition of photographic portraiture by Australian photographer Soraya Zaman. Both metaphorically and physically, It explores the gender binary, providing viewers a window into the lives and journeys of people across the trans-masculine spectrum. And it’s entirely family friendly, so people of all ages are encouraged to visit. Please be advised, however, that from 8pm onwards some of the content is rated M with adult themes.
LOOKING FOR ADAM
the first exhibition out of XYZ Photo Gallery, Looking For Adam is an intimate experience helmed and curated by Curated by artist Garrie Maguire. It features the works of four queer photographers, Ayman Kaake, David Charles Collins, David Lindesay, and Ali Choudhry, in which they explore facets of masculinity through photography. However, this one’s only open from 2pm on Wednesday–Sunday, so plan accordingly.
O UT
a queer takeover at Brunswick Street Gallery, O UT features some of Australia’s most exciting emerging and mid-career LGBTQIA+ artists. O UT strives to bring together artists, curators and collectives to represent the diverse experiences of our community, setting the tone for an all-welcoming and celebratory affair. And because it’s spread over three floors, O UT showcases a variety of solo and group exhibitions, each with their own unique curatorial voice.
CODE BLAK
“…code switching in the intersection of culture, gender and sexuality. Art is a code and Blak absorbs all the colours. The show is an output of all this…”. Code Blak is the kind of installation that you have to go to with as little knowledge as possible to appreciate, so we’re going to leave it at that, and see you at Blak Dot Gallery in Brunswick this weekend.
MISS FIRST NATION EXHIBITION
This is one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it installations. The Miss First Nation Exhibition is viewable in two locations, Scott Alley (off Flinders Ln), and between Melbourne City Baths and the Franklin Street acoustic shed, and it features stunning portraits of First Nations Drag Queens Lady Gargles, Estelle, Cerulean, Karma Bites, Stone Motherless Cold, Peaches, and Cerulean. Sure, it might be a little out of the way, but it’s worth the walk.
Apart from the three must-attend social events that Midsumma hosts each year (Midsumma Carnival, Midsumma Pride March, and Melbourne Pride), the following three events have been hand-picked by us as three of the most entertaining social events of the entire festival.
A GAY ON THE LAWN
A Gay on the Lawn is POOF DOOFs annual Midsumma Pride March afterparty. This year, they’re serving up a free afternoon of lawn bowls, gourmet BBQ and tunes. There’ll be snags, drags, DJs and lawn bowls, so whether you’re bowling, dancing or hitting the gourmet snags the soundtrack of summer will come from POOF DOOF’s resident DJs and high energy drag performers.
This 18+ inclusive event, held at the St Kilda Sports Club, is for the entire queer community as we all celebrate pride together.
The Details: 1:00pm – 9:30pm | Sunday, February 6 | St Kilda Sports Club | Tickets: FREE
HOMO EROTICA
Homo Erotica is known as Melbourne’s most audacious queer dance party. Held at Inflation in Geddes Ln, it’s an all-inclusive, kink-friendly techno party with a gala event on Sunday 13 February to farewell Midsumma Festival. So, bring your most provocative look be it gender fuck, latex, leather & gear, drag, Pups and Handlers, glam, club fashion, or even go nude; whatever it is, unleash it.
The Details: 9:00pm | Sunday, February 13 | Inflation | Tickets here
LADYLIKE SUMMER POOL PARTY
This one’s for our Gay Gals (sorry guys, no boys allowed). Held at Wet On Wellington, the Ladylike Summer Pool Party is a place where you can play and explore your sexual desires in a safe and non-judgmental environment in an environment full of feminine energy. Watch others play, join in the fun, have a spa or enjoy a cocktail at the bar… the night is yours! Women and non-binary individuals (including trans women, cis women, trans femme and femme presenting non-binary individuals) of all sizes, ages, and experiences are welcome.
The Details: 7:00pm | Thursday, February 10 | Wet On Wellington | Tickets here
Now, just because we’ve curated this selective list of comedy, art and social events to attend at Midsumma 2022, it doesn’t mean that these are the only events worth going to. If you’ve exhausted this list, first of all well done, because that’s a feat in and of itself. We’d recommend heading to midsumma.org.au and taking the time to have a look at What’s On, because we think you’d be pleasantly surprised.
So, be free and explore my queeries, and feel free to hit us up here or on Instagram (@amoderngaysguide) if you have any more queries (yeah we know, we used that already, but you’ve gotta admit it is a good one).
