This June, Pride Month, Up North Pride will create safe space and celebration through local art exhibits in the five-county region. In a year where so much is up in the air, and everyone is yearning for the feeling of community, Up North Pride would like to provide an opportunity to explore these emotions, to reflect, rejoice, and grow.

Through a new project, sponsored by BoxPop (a Britten, Inc. company), Up North Pride will install three art exhibits in shipping containers across Northern Michigan during the month of June. These displays will be located at Iron Fish Distillery in Thompsonville, Farm Club in Traverse City, and Short’s Brewing Company in Elk Rapids. Each display will offer space for artists, sponsored by Thomas Judd Care Center, and from the LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC communities, to explore the title theme of “Catharsis.” Each installation will invite the public to explore this theme and celebrate together after so much time apart. The installations will be open to the public June 1 through June 30, 2021.