People Are Celebrating Pride in Quarantine with DIY Mini Parade Floats

The coronavirus pandemic might have cancelled this year's in-person Pride parades, but that won't stop the LGBTQ+ community from expressing themselves and making their voices heard.

VICE recently launched a project that aims to hold a parade without actually breaking social distancing and mass gathering rules. In line with their Pride 2020 theme Queers Built This, the initiative involves creating DIY miniature floats from shoe boxes and small containers. The publisher commissioned 11 LGBTQ+ artists to make an initial batch of floats—ranging from floats dedicated to queer writers to floats about music videos—with each design decorated to reflect each individual's experience.

For instance, artist John Gara created a rainbow float carrying brunch items such as pancakes and coffee to represent the LGBTQ+ peoples' contributions to local communities and their having a seat at the table. Gara explained: 

"When it was announced that Pride was cancelled, I was worried for the already struggling businesses and their employees who have been closed during quarantine, and that rely on the increased business Pride brings. Queer spaces like bars, cafes, restaurants and clubs have been crucial gathering places for the community. This brunch is my idealized coming together during Pride, a seat at the table for everyone to share in the meal that defies convention. We gather to be fed, be entertained, be seen, and take pride in the community we've created."

VICE also invited others to make their own mini Pride floats and had them send in pics of the creations. The official mini parade will take place at the end of June on all of VICE's social media channels.  

"Channeling grief, finding joy, and expressing ourselves in art however we can amid terrible circumstances are fairly common experiences for LGBTQ people, and especially those of us who are BIPOC. We know, so well, how to celebrate one another when things feel gruesome, and how to lift one another up in those times," wrote Rachel Miller, Deputy Editor of VICE Life. 

"Take a minute for yourself to appreciate these floats, made in your honor, and the honor of your forebears and those who will come after you."

Source: apartmenttherapy.com