QADS and myGwork launch a Paris–London after-work series ahead of the first international LGBTQIA+ art and design show

For immediate release · Paris · London

Six evenings · October 2026 to June 2027 · The show: June 10 to 13, 2027, Le Carreau du Temple, Paris

QADS, the Queer Art & Design Show debuting in Paris in June 2027, and myGwork, the global business community for LGBTQIA+ professionals, today announce an international partnership linking Paris and London. Six after-work evenings will introduce myGwork's members to participating QADS galleries and the queer artists they represent, building toward the show's inaugural edition next year. The series opens October 28 at Galerie Artivistas in Paris, presenting works by Morné Visagie and Kohlben Vodden.

QADS, 2027

QADS is the first international art and design show devoted entirely to LGBTQIA+ artists. Queer work has long appeared at fairs as a theme, a section or a single booth; QADS gives it an entire hall. 26 galleries and design studios and more than 50 international queer artists gather beneath the 1863 iron-and-glass roof of Le Carreau du Temple.

The partnership

myGwork joins QADS as Professional Network Partner. The series is built for people who have never attended an opening: it turns professionals into art enthusiasts, brings LGBTQIA+ gallerists new collectors, and gives allies a direct way to support queer artists.

Opening night · Paris: After-Work Art Networking

Galerie Artivistas × QADS × myGwork
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · 6–9 PM · 35 Rue Blanche, 75009 Paris · Participating QADS gallery

Morné Visagie

Born in 1989, Morné Visagie is a South African artist, printmaker and curator based in Cape Town. He spent his early childhood on Robben Island, and the sea separating it from the mainland runs through his practice as a meditation on memory, exile and distance. He holds an MFA from the Michaelis School of Fine Art. At Artivistas, he presents works in brass.

Kohlben Vodden

British-Australian and based in London, Kohlben Vodden is a self-taught painter working in oil. His abstract figurative canvases, built from intense colour and bold geometry, draw on neuroaesthetics, the study of how the brain perceives beauty, to explore identity. Since beginning his practice in 2020, he has exhibited in Milan, Abu Dhabi and London.

The founders

Erick Ricardo Acosta

Founder, The Norm · Co-founder, QADS
Colombian-American and based in Paris, Erick is an activist who founded The Norm, an agency championing queer artists through exhibitions, brand collaborations and cultural programming. QADS carries that work onto an international stage.

Adrien and Pierre Gaubert

Co-founders, myGwork
French and based in London, twin brothers Adrien and Pierre Gaubert created myGwork after both faced discrimination at work. The platform connects LGBTQIA+ talent with inclusive employers worldwide. In 2015, the brothers received Attitude's first Young LGBT Entrepreneur Award.

The series: six after-work evenings, each hosted with a participating QADS gallery

01 · Paris
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · 6–9 PM · Galerie Artivistas, 35 Rue Blanche, 75009 Paris, France

02 · London
Late November 2026 · Venue to be announced

03–06
Further dates to be announced

The show

Four sections: Contemporary Art, Digital, Archives and Design. Alongside the galleries, four days of programming bring curator-led walkthroughs, talks with LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, artist conversations and live performance in dance, sound and fashion. Some work can be acquired; some exists only in the moment it is performed.

Key facts

Partners: QADS × myGwork
Title: Professional Network Partner
Cities: Paris · London
QADS 2027 show dates: June 10 to 13, 2027
Venue: Le Carreau du Temple, 4 Rue Eugène Spuller, 75003 Paris

Media contacts

QADS: [email protected] · www.qads.fr · @qads_show
High-resolution images available on request.

Organized by The Norm, Paris.