About Us

Queer Up North is Manchester's international queer festival. The first of its type in Europe, Queer Up North commissions, produces and presents a diverse, annual programme of live performance, art and ideas.

At the heart of Queer Up North is the commissioning programme. Since our inception in 1992, we’ve commissioned over 30 new performances, many of which have gone on from Manchester to be seen throughout the UK and, often, globally. In 2008 Queer Up North-commissioned work could be seen in over 30 cities, from New York and Sydney to Zagreb, Warsaw, and Paris.

Queer Up North also presents international live performance within the festival, with many companies or artists making their UK debuts in Manchester. The last few years have seen the festival present work from Poland, Hungary, South Africa, France and Italy, as well as Australia, Canada and the USA. Click on COMMISSIONS to find out more.

BLAZE is Queer Up North’s participation programme. Working with young people across Greater Manchester, we work in a wide range of partnerships to create and run arts projects for young people. The creation of this programme has been made possible by seed funding from the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities. Click on GET INVOLVED to find out more about BLAZE.