MQ Pride Night
MQ Pride Night
Since 2023, MQ Summer Stage
Commissioned by MuseumsQuartier Vienna to curate a performance evening during Pride Month for the Summer Stage in the Main Courtyard. Since 2023, the event has become an annual celebration of queer joy, pride and visibility in Vienna’s performance and music scene. The show is produced and sponsored by MuseumsQuartier Wien.
The evening is curated specifically to highlight and uplift queer performing artists, including dancers, musicians, drag performers, DJs and other forms of performance entertainment. The free and public event attracts approximately 300 guests and has a running time of 3 hours.
Concept: Verena Kaspar-Eisert and Daniel Hill
Curation and moderation: Daniel Hill
Participating artists have included: Denise Palmieri, Athene Atlas, Lady Nutjob, Madame Léa, Oluchukwu, Faris Cuchi, Evandro Pedroni & Mzamo Nondlwana, Danielle Pamp, Bicha Boo Collective, Rumi von Baires, Kiki House of Dive, Haus of Rausch, Bro Homo, DaDa JV, Fräulein Bürgerschreck, Henry Blue, among others.
Documentation: MQ Wien (Simon Veres/Martin Steiger/Niko Havranek)
The line-up of performances showcases a plurality of artistic approaches and identities in the queer art scene.
The 2023 edition, “Take Up Space!”, included an operetta story by Danielle Pamp, a vocal evocation of Ethiopian ancestrial linage by Faris Cuchi, drag performances by the group Haus of Rausch, and vogue performances by Kiki House of Dive. This was followed by DJ set by Bicha Boo Collective, an audio-visual, performative and festive collective.
The 2024 edition, “Celebrate Queer Creativity"!”, included solo performances by two well-known singers, Athene Atlas and Oluchukwu Akusinanwa. The queer performance artists and dancers Evandro Pedroni and Mzamo Nondlwana appear as ‘The Influenzers’ in an exaggerated performance to reflect on social media phenomena in the world of superficiality and filters. Drag performer Lady Nutjob presented drag performances by Madame Léa, Haus of Rausch and BroHomo. The evening ended with a one-hour DJ set by Rumi von Baires.
The 2025 edition, “Stand Up!”, included solo performances by opera singer Henry Blue and comedic drag queen Fräulein Bürgerschreck singing updated classical showtunes. Drag performers Madam Léa and DaDa JV combined fashion, dance and drag in a dazzling performance of carisma, percision and flair. The momentum continued with When Drama Knocks the Door — a collaborative performance by Helena Araújo, Mzamo Nondlwana and Pêdra Costa that blurred the lines between performance, ritual and resistance in an embodied act of solidarity. The night culminated in a genre-bending DJ-set by মm., a Vienna-based Bengali artist whose sound collages fuse experimental club, diasporic beats and political storytelling. The evening was co-hosted with Jupiter Rhae Braun.
In 2026, MQ Pride Night is expanding the format to four editions across the summer, starting with the Pride Month event in June and then continuing monthly through September. Each subsequent event has a focused theme.
12. June, Pride Edition
17. July, Dance Edition
7. August, Performance Art
4. September, Poetry and Literature
