Call for Submissions: Nuit Rose 2026 – Rewilding
A Festival of Queer Art and Performance
Submission Deadline: Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 11:59pm ET
Apply Online
Project Summary
Nuit Rose: The Festival of Queer Art and Performance returns to Toronto in June 2026, ready to rewild the Church–Wellesley Village with installations, live performances, community activations, and parties.
First launched during WorldPride 2014, Nuit Rose has grown into one of Canada’s most celebrated queer art festivals, showcasing over 300 projects across six editions (2014–2019). Organized by the Throbbing Rose Collective, Nuit Rose brings together artists, curators, performers, and community builders to ignite collaboration and celebrate queer creativity in all its forms.
After a six-year hiatus, Nuit Rose 2026 – Rewilding reclaims the Village as a site of cultural renewal. The theme Rewilding invites artists to explore regeneration, resistance, and joy, to plant seeds of change in a rapidly transformed landscape. Through light, sound, performance, and installation, the festival will celebrate resilience and reimagine queer futures.
Nuit Rose returns for its 7th edition from June 18 – 21, with the Main Event on Saturday, June 20 at 7:00pm throughout Toronto’s Church–Wellesley Village.
Project Requirements
Artists are invited to interpret and respond to the theme Rewilding through any medium or approach, including but not limited to:
- Reclaiming or reimagining urban spaces as queer ecologies
- Multimedia or interdisciplinary projects
- Participatory or site-responsive works
- Reflections on queer histories, futures, and intergenerational storytelling
- Explorations of play, transformation, and renewal as acts of resistance
Submissions may include two-dimensional works, sculpture, installation, performance, screen-based media, or community activations. Indoor and outdoor proposals are welcome.
Eligibility
Open to artists, performers, writers, curators, cultural organizations, and community groups. We strongly encourage applications from individuals and organizations reflecting diverse identities across sexuality, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, age, ability, and experience.
Compensation
Selected projects may be designated as:
- Featured Projects – receive artist fees based on CARFAC rates plus key venue placement
- Contributing Projects – receive venue space and promotional support
- Partner Projects – self-organized projects included in festival promotion
Selection Process
A jury of artists and curators will review all submissions based on:
- Artistic merit and originality
- Project feasibility and clarity
- Community engagement potential
- Representation of diversity and intersectionality
- Alignment with the 2026 theme Rewilding
Applicants will be notified of results by Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Submission Requirements
Applicants must submit via the online form and include:
- Completed application form
- Project description (max 500 words)
- Up to 5 images or video links of relevant work
- Artist bio or CV (max 3 pages)
- Technical or spatial requirements (if applicable)
Incomplete submissions cannot be considered.
How to Submit
Submit your proposal through the online portal.
Submission Deadline: January 15, 2026 at 11:59pm ET
For questions or assistance, please contact: [email protected]