The Q Files Beams Sci-Fi Joy Into Pride Month
Image credit: CJStarc, Frankenstein's Tboy, 2023. Courtesy of the artist
The Q Files: The Queer is Out There
Unassigned Gallery, 55 Edward Street, Brunswick | 7 to 28 June 2025
What if the queer future wasn’t just imagined—but already here?
That’s the premise behind The Q Files: The Queer is Out There, the latest radiant offering from the Queer Love Collective. Taking over the Unassigned Gallery in Brunswick from June 7 to 28, the show is a love letter to the worlds that speculative fiction has always opened up for queer people: strange, campy, radical, and free.
Curated with unapologetic affection, The Q Files is a Pride Month exhibition for the fandom kids, the alien lovers, the slash fiction readers, the cosplay queers, and everyone who ever felt more at home on the Starship Enterprise than in their hometown.
The Collective doesn’t just embrace sci-fi, they queer it right back.
“Whether you found yourself fawning over Scully or Mulder, or just exist as a Queer person, you are accepted and loved and your work expands beyond what is deemed to be ‘normal’”
This isn’t about fitting in. It’s about expanding the universe.
And they mean it. Every artist who submitted work was accepted into the show. There’s no gatekeeping here. Just as science fiction has always pushed against the boundaries of what society deems possible, The Q Files pushes against the idea that exhibitions must be polished, exclusive or curated to a fault.
The works themselves span media and identities, forming a galaxy of perspectives: from Indigenous queer photography to fan art, sculpture, and drag. Artist Kyle Archie Knight speaks of the importance of being seen “in a space that’s non-judgmental and open to interpretations and ideas… especially with how hopeless the world can feel in times like these.”
Fellow artist CJ Starc reflects on the personal journey these shows inspire: “Being part of the show fills me with so much gender euphoria and overwhelming joy… Alien is my favourite movie. To be part of a science fiction-themed show that celebrates trans and queer representation affirms what we know to be true - that science fiction has and will always be queer.”
This intersection between queerness and sci-fi isn’t accidental; it’s been an intrinsic part of queerness for generations. From David Bowie’s androgynous Stardust to Sigourney Weaver’s no-nonsense Ripley, from cyberpunk body mods to intergalactic found families, the genre has long offered metaphors and mythologies for lives that defy binary categorisation.
As artist Jale Sezai puts it, these works don’t just celebrate fictional characters; they honour the real communities that spring up around them. “Spaces and shows like this help me really feel at home within the art community,” she says, “and I love being able to exhibit with like-minded artists.”
The beating heart of this show, however, is community. Fiercely nurtured by Unassigned Gallery’s Nour Abdullatif, who has created a space where queer artists are not only shown, but championed. “I have never met someone who cares as much as she does about supporting emergent artists and queer creatives,” says the Collective.
So beam yourself in. Come for the aliens, stay for the euphoria. Whether you’re into sci-fi or just into safe queer spaces, The Q Files is a portal to another world. One shaped by connection, creation, and collective joy. To quote drag artist Themme Fatale, echoed proudly by the artists in this show: “We are all we have. We are all we need.”
The Q Files: The Queer is Out There
Unassigned Gallery, 55 Edward Street, Brunswick
7–28 June 2025
