Midsumma Festival with Karen Bryant

Lisa and Marnie interview Karen Bryant, Chief Executive for Midsumma Festival.
When we think of festivals, we think of summer, music and large crowds. However, the Midsumma Festival is like the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory of festivals! It is a colourful world that embraces diversification and disability across the LGBTQIA+ community. Not only is there music, this festival is a smorgasbord of pleasure including visual arts, film, sporting events, workshops, there’s some sexy stuff, public speaking, food and fun stalls, education and it even has events for families and kids.

Since 1988, Midsumma has become a globally-relevant cultural influencer that keeps learning and diversity at their heart. The Australian queer arts and cultural festival returns to Victoria in 2022 running between the 23rd of January and 13th of February with Midsumma Pride March occurring as part of the celebrations on Sunday the 6th February.

 When we started looking into this significantly incredible festival, we discovered that Midsumma doesn’t just run over a few weeks. This is an all year round organisation that provides artists, social-changers, and culture-makers with support and tools to create, present and promote their work. The most significant of these programs are called: Midsumma Futures and Midsumma Pathways, which provide mentorship, networking and development opportunities for early-career artists and culture-makers.

 It is no wonder that Midsumma has matured to become one of Australia’s most significant queer arts organisations that has supported generations of LGBTQIA+ cultural voices, emerging artists and has been a platform for conversations that have helped shape queer art and culture forever.

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Educational and Supportive Links:
Australia
https://www.midsumma.org.au/
https://www.minus18.org.au/
https://au.reachout.com/articles/lgbtqi-support-services
https://www.diversityaustralia.com.au/lgbtqi/
https://rainbowline.org/
https://www.lifeline.org.au/  Phone 131114
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/ Phone 1300224636

 New Zealand
https://www.lifeline.org.nz/
https://mentalhealth.org.nz/