Pride month globally has arrived, and despite what large corporations may signal, the concept of pride exists in a realm that is far less tangible than rainbow-printed paraphernalia.

The marking month of the gay liberation movement in New York City, led by Black and Brown, queer and trans women like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera (who only recently have gained mainstream recognition), pride month exists off the back of a riot. It exists to create space for the LGBTQI+ community and celebrate the identities that live within it. It's here because LGBTQI+ people are here. It's here because pride is beautiful, life-affirming, flawed, momentous, poetic, necessary and extends beyond a single month, day, or moment. Celebrating Pride in all its iterations means more than acknowledging corporate virtue-signalling, it means acknowledging the individuals that cohabit a community that extends so much of itself into creativity and expression, allowing us all to move without limitation within such spaces.

For those looking to celebrate Pride differently this month, discover and engage with folx within their community, and get acquainted with a number of the creatives that are instigating change firsthand through their art. Below we've assembled our favourite LGBTQI+ creators to follow on Instagram and beyond.

Let us be very clear: each of these creators deserves to be celebrated for their talents first and not within signifiers of identity, yet in a landscape where we are so often a tokenistic addition to someone else's spotlight, carving out space feels paramount to our own port of call.

Scroll on to see the creators we love following. From performance artists to poets, there are so many creatives who deserve support who we will continue to appreciate, long after the rainbow flags come down this year.

Aretha Brown, Artist

 

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Cloudy Rhodes, Filmmaker and Director

 

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Basjia Almaan, Casting Director, Performer, Movement Coach

 

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Nyaluak Leth, Poet and Model

 

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Myles Loftin, Photographer 

 

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Quinn Wilson, Creative Director

 

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A post shared by Quinn Whitney Wilson (@quinnwilsonn)

Byron Spencer, Multidisciplinary Artist, DJ, and Director

 

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Xander Khoury, Dancer and Creative

 

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Ryan James Caruthers, Photographer and Art Director

 

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Indya Moore, Model and Actor

 

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Rob Tennent, Photographer

 

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Laura Mazikana, Hair Artist & Stylist 

 

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Chella Man, Artist

 

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Sean Brady, Makeup Artist

 

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Crystal Russell, Model, Dancer, and Writer

 

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Jas Lin, Performance Artist 

 

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Paul Bui, Creative Director

 

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Shop Toni, Clothing Designer

 

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Eden Kinlock, Make-up Artist

 

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Aaron Rose Philip, Model

 

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Chelsea Fairless, Podcaster

 

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Sin Wai Kin, Visual Artist 

 

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Loki Patera

 

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Lynn Mathuthu, Stylist 

 

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Kaitlin Chan, Artist & Cartoonist

 

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Jonty Knight, Model 

 

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If you're looking for more creatives to follow this pride, we've rounded up our favourite queer beauty creators' accounts to inspire your look for pride and beyond.