The UK's largest trans arts festival is returning to Manchester for its fifth year.
Trans Vegas, which is curated by Kate O’Donnell, has been a fixture of Manchester’s events calendar since 2017 and celebrates trans brilliance with a programme jam-packed full of art, cabaret and performances.
This year’s festival will feature a panel discussion with trans activist Travis Alabanza, a window installation by illustrator Ashton Attzs and an all-out cabaret extravaganza led by Yvy DeLuca’s The BollyWitch.
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“We’re always very proud of Trans Vegas,” Kate tells the M.E.N. “It’s such a nice offering to Manchester in terms of culture. I love how over the last five years, we’ve created a hub and carved out some space for trans art.
“I feel that Trans Vegas is so important for Manchester and the city would really be lacking without it. I feel it really represents what’s going on not just in the city but in the country.”
Trans Vegas kicks off this week with a window art installation at the Feel Good Club on Hilton Street in the Northern Quarter. Created by non-binary painter and illustrator Ashton Attzs, the ‘And THEY Lived Happily Ever After’ display tries to change the narrative around the vilification that trans people are often met with.
The ‘bold and unapologetic’ art display, which runs until August 13, features popular queer ‘villains’ and reintroduces them in a world where they live happily ever after.
Performer and writer Kate describes Trans Vegas as her ‘gift to the city’ for helping her in her own transition. She hopes the festival will be the beacon of hope she didn’t have herself growing up.
“I transitioned here 20-odd years ago and I’ve always felt a special connection with Manchester,” she explains. “I remember winning an award a few years ago where they said I had helped make Manchester a happier and safer place for people and it took me off guard because I wasn’t sure if I had.
“I felt like I had to work for that award and there was more I needed to do to prove it to myself and to everyone else. I feel like the festival has now become that and caught up. If I was growing up in Manchester now and I knew there was a trans arts festival, I’d maybe feel a bit happier and safer.
“Seeing the events at Trans Vegas would have definitely speeded up my transition. If I was able to go into town and look at Ashton’s art and see that we could live happily ever after, I would feel like ‘Ok, there is hope’. People need to see and feel that.”
Performer Travis Alabanza, who was recently named in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, will appear at a book reading and panel discussion on August 5. The event, also at Feel Good Club, will see Travis read from and sign copies of their latest memoir None of the Above.
There will also be a panel discussion curated and led by Travis featuring key UK Black and Brown trans and non-binary writers including journalist Jackson King, performer Maz Hedgehog and activist Sabah Choudry. The event will then be followed by the A-POC-ALYPSE cabaret, which celebrates queer artists of colour, featuring The BollyWitch, FrogBoi, Judas Darkholme and Romeo De La Cruz.
“We get bolder and braver every year,” Kate explains of the festival. “We’re really led by the artists, and this year is really centred around life and death, which is quite a very trans experience as there’s often a threat hanging over our heads. These last few years have been quite difficult for our community and we need an opportunity to celebrate without being villainized or debated.”
This year, Trans Vegas will step out of its usual weekend celebration and host six events across five months. Kate hopes this will mean more people than ever will give the festival a chance and seek out what trans performers have to offer.
“We’re very welcoming, we’re very ally friendly,” she says. “I don’t want to live in a bubble and trans people are very much out there in the world. The festival is very irreverent and vibrant - which it needs to be - but I think there are also topics that need to be talked about.
“It’s really important that we, as people who have to read the headlines about us every day, get a chance to share our own stories and experiences. If we don’t have these dialogues, we can’t really move things on. People really need to get on board with the party, because they’re missing out on one hell of a celebration if not.”
For more information on Trans Vegas, click here.
The 'And THEY Lived Happily Ever After’ exhibition by Ashton Attzs runs until August 13 at the Feel Good Club. Travis Alabanza's None of the Above book launch and A-POC-ALYPSE cabaret will take place on August 5 from 7-11pm at The Feel Good Club, tickets here.
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