Pride Month often shines a spotlight on activists, politicians, musicians, and celebrities, but some of the most exciting work happening in queer communities is taking place in studios, workshops, print shops, sewing rooms, and home offices. Across Canada and around the world, 2SLGBTQIA+ makers are creating art, publishing books, preserving craft traditions, building businesses, and finding new ways to tell their stories.
The relationship between queer culture and making runs deep. Long before social media existed, 2SLGBTQIA+ people built communities through zines, independent bookstores, art collectives, craft fairs, music scenes, and handmade businesses. Creating things by hand has often been a way to express identity, connect with others, and carve out space in a world that wasn’t always welcoming.
If you’re looking for inspiration, here are 25 2SLGBTQIA+ amazing makers, artists, writers, and creative entrepreneurs whose work deserves a closer look.
1. Ivan Coyote
Writer, storyteller, and performer Ivan Coyote has spent decades sharing stories about identity, family, and belonging. Through books, live performances, and public speaking, Coyote has become one of Canada’s most beloved queer voices and a powerful example of how storytelling can be a creative craft in its own right.
2. Vivek Shraya
Few creators move between disciplines as effortlessly as Vivek Shraya. Their work spans music, books, visual art, film, and publishing, demonstrating that creative careers don’t have to fit neatly into a single category or check a certain box.
3. Rae Spoon
Musician, writer, and artist Rae Spoon has built a career by embracing experimentation. Their work explores identity, place, and community while encouraging other artists to pursue unconventional creative paths.
4. Shing Yin Khor
Part cartoonist, part sculptor, part storyteller, Shing Yin Khor creates work that is whimsical, playful, thoughtful, and impossible to categorize. Their projects range from graphic novels and illustrations to handmade miniatures, sculptures, and puppets!
5. Nicole Georges
A longtime zinester, illustrator, and cartoonist, Nicole Georges represents the enduring connection between queer culture and independent publishing. Her work continues to inspire creators who are drawn to DIY media and personal storytelling.
6. Micah Bazant
Micah Bazant’s illustrations have become iconic within activist and grassroots organizing spaces. Their bold, accessible artwork demonstrates how visual communication can support social movements while remaining deeply creative.
7. Ben Cuevas
Ben Cuevas has helped challenge assumptions about fibre arts through intricate knitting projects that blend traditional craft techniques with contemporary artistic expression. His work proves that fibre art belongs in conversations about modern art.
8. Sky Cubacub
As the founder of Rebirth Garments, Sky Cubacub creates clothing that centres accessibility, body diversity, and gender freedom. Their ultra colourful designs demonstrate how fashion can be both practical and transformative.
9. Alok Vaid-Menon
Writer, performer, poet, and fashion creator Alok Vaid-Menon has inspired audiences around the world through work that challenges conventional ideas about gender and self-expression. Their personal style alone has influenced countless makers and designers.
10. Tourmaline
Artist, filmmaker, and writer Tourmaline creates work that explores trans history, joy, and liberation. Through multiple creative disciplines, she has helped bring important stories and perspectives to wider audiences.
11. Juliana Huxtable
Juliana Huxtable works across visual art, writing, music, and performance. Her multidisciplinary practice has made her one of the most influential queer artists working today.
12. Wu Tsang
Filmmaker and visual artist Wu Tsang creates ambitious projects that explore identity, language, and community. Their work frequently blurs the boundaries between documentary, performance, and contemporary art.
13. Mickalene Thomas
Known for vibrant mixed-media portraits, Mickalene Thomas has become one of the most recognizable contemporary artists of her generation. Her work celebrates Black women while challenging traditional ideas about beauty and representation.
14. L J Roberts
Textile artist L J Roberts creates incredibly intricate fibre-based work that explores queer history, activism, and community. Their projects demonstrate how textiles can function as both art and historical documentation.
15. Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Writer, performer, and disability justice advocate Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha creates work that explores community care, creativity, and collective survival. Their writing has become essential reading for many artists and activists.
16. Cassils
Performance artist Cassils uses sculpture, photography, endurance, and physical transformation to create powerful work about gender, identity, and the body. Their practice pushes the boundaries of contemporary art.
17. Harmony Hammond
A pioneering artist and writer, Harmony Hammond helped establish fibre art and textile-based practices within contemporary art. Her influence continues to be felt across multiple generations of makers.
18. Amos Mac
Publisher, writer, and independent media creator Amos Mac has played an important role in queer publishing and trans storytelling for years. His work highlights the importance of independent media and community-driven platforms.
19. Aiden Bettine
As the founder of the Queer Zine Archive Project, Aiden Bettine has helped preserve decades of 2SLGBTQIA+ publishing history. Their work reminds us that archiving can be every bit as important as creating.
20. Chella Man
Artist, illustrator, actor, and activist Chella Man uses visual storytelling to explore identity, disability, and self-expression. Their work has resonated with audiences far beyond traditional art spaces.
21. Zanele Muholi
Photographer and visual activist Zanele Muholi has spent years documenting Black 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Their powerful portraits have become some of the most important images in contemporary queer art.
22. Kris Grey
Sculptor and multidisciplinary artist Kris Grey creates work that examines gender, identity, and physical transformation. Their installations encourage audiences to rethink assumptions about bodies and representation.
23. J Mase III
Poet, educator, and creative facilitator J Mase III uses writing and performance to foster conversations about justice, identity, and community. Their work demonstrates how creativity can be a powerful tool for social change.
24. Mx Justin Vivian Bond
Singer, performer, writer, and visual artist Mx Justin Vivian Bond has spent decades building a creative practice that refuses easy categorization. Their work blends performance, music, and visual art in unique ways.
25. Jonathan D. Katz
Art historian, curator, and scholar Jonathan D. Katz has dedicated much of his career to documenting 2SLGBTQIA+ contributions to the arts. His research has helped preserve and elevate countless queer creative histories.
Beyond Individual Makers
The queer maker movement extends far beyond individual artists. It also lives within archives, bookstores, publishing projects, festivals, and community spaces.
Organizations such as The ArQuives in Toronto, the Queer Zine Archive Project, Printed Matter, and Glad Day Bookshop continue to preserve queer creative history while supporting new generations of artists and makers. Events like local zine fairs, artist markets, and independent craft shows create opportunities for creators to connect directly with their communities.
Because making has never been just about the finished object. It’s about creating culture, sharing knowledge, preserving stories, and building spaces where people can see themselves reflected.
The 2SLGBTQIA+ makers on this list are doing exactly that, one project at a time.
Check them out and share your favourite queer artists, writers, makers in the comments below!
AXO (she/her) is a multidisciplinary creator and editor based in Toronto. She is the founder of She Zine Mag, Side Project Distro, BBLGM Club, and several other projects under the AXO&Co umbrella — each rooted in DIY culture, creative rebellion, and community care. Her work explores the intersection of craft, technology, and consciousness, with an emphasis on handmade ethics, neurodivergent creativity, and the politics of making. She is an advocate for accessible creativity and the power of small-scale cultural production to spark social change. Her practice merges punk, print, and digital media while refusing to separate the emotional from the practical. Above all, her work invites others to build creative lives that are thoughtful, defiant, and deeply handmade.
