The Throbbing Rose Collective announces the complete programming for Nuit Rose: Rewilding, the 7th edition of Toronto’s festival of queer art and performance. Culminating in a night-long art festival on Saturday, June 20, Nuit Rose: Rewilding runs during Pride Month with events running until July 5, 2026. The festival presents exhibitions, performances, screenings, public art, and community activations across the Church-Wellesley Village and beyond, All Nuit Rose: Rewilding events are free unless noted.

This year’s festival presents more than 20 exhibitions, performances and events created by 55 Canadian and international queer artists in various media. Nuit Rose is organized by the Throbbing Rose Collective of Toronto. Pre-Festival events, and the details of all June 20th Nuit Rose Festival night events are listed below, along with six main exhibitions that run throughout the month. There’s a lot going on, so plan accordingly so you don’t miss any of this fabulous queerness!

PRE-FESTIVAL FUNDRAISER

Drag in a Bag

Sunday, June 7, 2026 | Doors 1:30 p.m., Show 2 p.m.

The 519 Ballroom, 519 Church Street, Toronto

Admission: pay what you can, $10 to $20 suggested | Cash bar

Quick-drag contest with audience members performing sickening lip-synchs, for the Crown!

FESTIVAL NIGHT: SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2026 | 5 TO 11 P.M.

Rewilding Group Exhibition Opening Reception: 5 to 7 p.m.

Foy House, 92 Isabella Street, Toronto

See exhibition description above.

Queer Street Art: Rewilding Public Space

All evening | Church Street, Toronto

Curators: John Rubino* and Joey Bruni*

Street art and wheat-paste murals promoting queer visibility across Church Street, including work banned as propaganda in the United States, assembled by artist Jeremy Novy.

Village Art Crawl and Light Parade: Walk on the Wild Side 

6:30 to 10:30 p.m. | Various locations, Church-Wellesley Village

Co-curated by Michael Venus*

An evening-long art crawl and light parade linking festival venues and public art across the neighbourhood. Attendees are encouraged to wear glowing or light-emitting attire!

Schedule:  The NEST: Festival Hub at Foy House, 92 Isabella St.

  • 6:20 p.m. – Remarks
  • 6:30 p.m. – Kick-off performance by Devine Darlin and Wiggle Wearable Art Fashion Show by The House of Venus
  • 6:45 p.m. – Performance by Isis Ramirez ( Conjunctivitis)
  • 7:00 p.m. – Light Parade and Art Crawl begins at Foy House
  • 7:25 p.m. – Village Fest Stage on Church St. with Special Guest performance
  • 8:00 p.m. – Performance by Cameron Tania at Pegasus, 489B Church Street
  • 8:30 p.m. – Performances by isa farah and Jonathan Gejtman & Astoria at The 519 Church Street Community Centre
  • 10:00 p.m. – Exhibition: The Wild & The Weeds at The ArQuives, 4 Isabella St.
  • 10:30 p.m. – The NEST at Foy House: End of event. After-party begins

Events at The 519 Church Street Community Centre

7 to 11 p.m. | 519 Church Street, Toronto

Curator: John Rubino*

The 519 hosts a screening room with short films, interactive projects, and musical performances in the Ballroom.

Artists: Evan Tapper, Iain Downie, James Knott, Kim Fullerton, Nina Vroemen, Pablo Muñoz, RT Collective, Simone Jones

Performances: 

Counterpoint Community Orchestra, 7 to 8 p.m. isa farah, 8:30 to 9:15 p.m.

Jonathan Gejtman & Astoria, 9:45 to 11 p.m.

The Wild & the Weeds and Glory Hole Gallery

7 to 10 p.m.| The ArQuives, 34 Isabella Street, Toronto

Curators: McKenna Grey and Emily Peltier

A group exhibition exploring the queer, historic landscape of Hanlan’s Point.

Artists: Emily Peltier, Morris Fox, Morgan Sears-Williams, Patrick Stochmal

Rewilding After Party

10 p.m. to late | Foy House, 92 Isabella Street, Toronto | 18+ | Cash bar

Attendees are encouraged to dress WILDly! Cash bar, music & fun. 18+ only

ART OPENINGS & EXHIBITIONS 

The Green Hours

Opening: Thursday, June 4, 2026 | 6 to 9 p.m.

Exhibition runs to June 27

Akasha Art Projects, 204D Carlton Street, Toronto

Curators: SweetThings – James Fowler* and Pearl Van Geest*

Artists: Alana Bartol, Cai Sepulis*, Grant Heaps, James Fowler*, Kristy Boyce*, Pearl Van Geest*, Troy Brooks, Walter Segers*, Zachari Logan

Going Rogue

Opening: Friday, June 5, 2026 | 6 to 8 p.m.

Exhibition runs to June 27, 2026

Gagné Contemporary Project Space, 136 Brooklyn Avenue (rear lane), Toronto

Curators: James Fowler*, P. Elaine Sharpe*, Pearl Van Geest*

Artists: Members of the Throbbing Rose Collective

This group exhibition starts at the act of deviation: from expected practice, from inherited genre, and from the sanctioned image.

The Wilding West

Opening and Festival Launch: Thursday, June 18, 2026 | 7 to 10 p.m.

Exhibition runs to July 1, 2026

Youngplace Art Centre, Second Floor, 180 Shaw Street, Toronto

Curator: Francisco Alvarez*

A group exhibition with Canadian and international queer artists selected from the Call for Submissions and members of the Throbbing Rose Collective.

Artists: Andi Syme, Francisco Alvarez*, James Fowler*, Joey Bruni*, Mimmo Baronello*, Pearl Van Geest*, Schem Rogerson Bader*, Stephen Olivier, Tara B. Patterson, Walter Segers*

John Simone’s Photographic Voyages

Opening: Thursday, June 18, 2026 | 7 to 10 p.m.

Exhibition runs to July 5, 2026

Youngplace Art Centre, Third Floor, 180 Shaw Street, Toronto

Curator: Kelly McCray

A retrospective exhibition presenting 300 images from 50 countries and five continents.

Rewilding Unbound: We Won’t Be Tamed

Opening: Friday, June 19, 2026 | 6 to 8 p.m.

Exhibition runs June 3 to July 9, 2026

Pegasus on Church, 489B Church Street, Toronto

Curator: Walter Segers*

Four artists explore nature & transformation. Cameron Tania performs June 19 & 20 at 8 pm Artists: Alex Scott, Eden Kinkaid, Matthew Moloney, Salim Ali

Rewilding Group Exhibition

Opening: Saturday, June 20, 2026 | 5 to 7 p.m.

Exhibition runs to June 27, 2026

Foy House, 92 Isabella Street, Toronto

Curators: James Fowler* and John Rubino*

With Canadian and international queer artists selected from the Call for Artists and members of the Throbbing Rose Collective.

Artists: Christian Bernard Singer*, Claire Forsythe, Eric Chengyang, Geoffrey Lok-Fay Cheung, Hunter Cascagnette, James Fowler*, John Anthony Rubino*, LOVED Collective: Charlie Hunter* and Mike Wyeld*, Michel Dumont, Mimmo Baronello*, Pearl Van Geest*, Per Wilt, Peter Wilde, Sarah Hunter*, Terry Dame*, Walter Segers*, Zachari Logan

POST-FESTIVAL

Foy Talks

Sunday, June 21, 2026 | 2 to 4 p.m.

Foy House, 92 Isabella Street, Toronto | Free

Curators and artists in Nuit Rose: Rewilding present short talks about their work and lead conversations with audience members.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Volunteers are welcome to help at any event. To sign up, visit www.throbbingrose.ca/volunteer

ABOUT THE THROBBING ROSE COLLECTIVE

The Throbbing Rose Collective is a Toronto-based artist collective producing exhibitions, art residencies, and cultural events that centre 2SLGBTQIA+ artists and communities. Founded in 2014, the Collective organized the first Nuit Rose festival during WorldPride Toronto and has since presented more than 300 projects across seven earlier festival editions.

www.throbbingrose.ca | Instagram: @nuitrose | 341 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1W8

 

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.