The TranSpace Pride Festival, a hybrid festival(Zoom/in-person), was the first annual Minnesota transgender, intersex, gender-expansive, and disabled community Pride Festival. The inaugural event took place summer of 2024.
Presented by Atlas Oggun Phoenix, TranSpace Pride collaborated with trans, intersex, gender-expansive, and disabled artists and created an all-day event featuring cabaret, concerts, and vendor showcases. The festival aimed to foster an (outer)space of love and praise, celebrating our magnificent and luminous individuality.
After participating in the 2022 Trans Day of Remembrance as a reader for the month of March, grief-stricken, Atlas recognized the importance of healing through community service. In 2023, this led to the creation of "Trans-LATE!" which was dedicated to uplifting and highlighting the experiences of trans, intersex, gender-expansive, and disabled communities.
In 2024, the event was awarded a $35,000 Arts Experience Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Recently, Atlas renamed Trans-LATE! to the TranSpace Pride Festival to convey more inclusivity, branding it as a universal, out-of-this-world experience for our thriving community and supportive allies.
The universal mission of the TranSpace Pride Festival included an acknowledgment service for community members and their families who have been lost to murder, medical neglect, and suicide or who have suffered traumatic emotional, and physical abuse by those who do not accept our existence. Our partners include The Hook and Ladder Theater and Lounge in Minneapolis, CRWN Media, Twin Cities Gay Scene, and the fabulous Transcendence Cabaret.
The festival celebrated the culture, diversity, and love that transcends boundaries, bringing souls together in harmony to appreciate individual beauty, uplift spirits, and unite hearts. This magical experience embraced the power of difference, celebrates connections, and highlights the importance of acceptance. It became unforgettable and truly extraordinary event where community members and allies let their souls dance in the light of diversity through equity, sustainability, and representation.