IHRAF Festival QUEENS
Submissions CLOSED!
Join The Movement — NYC’s pre-eminent arts and human rights performance festival
comes to the world’s most diverse neighborhood!
📢 First Ever 📢
International Human Rights Art Festival
Queens
September 26th - 28th, 2025
Court Square Theater
44-02 23rd Street, Long Island City, NY 11101
(Just 10 minutes from Times Square; 7, G, and E trains within a 4-minute walk.)
Submission Window is CLOSED!
An event highlighting the cultural diversity and creative passion of the world’s most diverse neighborhood!
FULL schedule announced by July 15.
Queens based artists Call!
The submission window is now open for performance work in any form - every discipline!
Work may not have been produced within the last year in NYC, or be scheduled in the next six months of September 28, 2025.
Please note:
the performances must be fully produced by you; IHRAF is a presenting platform.
Considering performances 10-20 minutes long!
We accept just one proposal for each application.
Submit all work to costanza@humanrightsartmovement.org
L’il Angelique at the IHRAF Festival
Photo by Steven Pisano
We are jurying work with the following interests, for performance blocks:
Climate Change Action
Immigration
LGBTQIA
Celebration of Women/Women in Power
Celebration of Black Men/Undiscovered Women
Shalom/Salaam
With Love from Africa
Queens history
Any other social justice concerns you might have!
Plus: one Ten Minute Play Festival
* In the pics above, from the top: Jessica Litwak (photo by Steven Pisano) and Gwen Rakatovo Dance (photo by Jess Saldana)
All accepted performers will receive:
Performance stipends of $150 (per project)
PR and marketing support
30-minute tech rehearsal
Festival TD and SM
Free photographic documentation of the performance
…and bragging rights as participants in the largest human rights/art festival in NYC!
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Please email our Festival Assistant Producer Costanza Bugiani at costanza@humanrightsartmovement.org with the following:
A brief description of your piece, including approximate running time - we’re accepting 10-20 mins works.
A cover letter, including details regarding the piece’s discipline, issue of concern treated and a brief summary of your artistic goals
Your bios or resumes and the names of any collaborators already on board
A sample of work (scripts, pics, videos, songs, any other links or file that could help us to know more about your project)
As email subject, please type IHRAF in Queens 2025, then add Association/Company/your name (i.e. IHRAF in Queens 2025, Joan Doe)
Please note:
Must be the work of Queens-based artists!
Work may not have been produced within the last year in NYC, or be scheduled in the next six months of September 28, 2025.
The performances must be fully produced by you; IHRAF is a presenting platform.
We accept one proposal for each application.
And, remember, there are NO fees for submission!
We are seeking artists who use their creativity as their weapon of justice,
and operate under our signature values of
Beauty as a fundamental artistic principle;
Sincerity and Vulnerability of presentation;
Celebration of Diversity, and opening doorways of engagement with all members of society.
We believe that creative engagement with all members of the society is the surest path toward social justice and positive change.
* In the pics above, from the top: Pele Bauch, A.K.A. Ka Inoa; Eugene Grygo, Graduation.; Movement Of the People Dance Company, Hair Ties; Joseph Bulvid, If Only . . . Ivan Faute, Lost Sock Laundromat. Photos by Danny Boyd
The International Human Rights Art Festival, New York City’s pre-eminent arts and human rights performance event, is looking for performers in all media to present work during the week of events and workshops in one of the most welcoming venues for emerging artists in New York City: The Tank!
The International Human Rights Art Festival has been featured in the New York Times, Fox Five Morning Show, NBC Live!, NY Observer, Crain’s NY Business, Metro-NY, AM-NY, Gay City News, Brooklyn Rail, and many others; we have been banned by the Catholic Church, lionized by politicians and government workers and have presented more than 1000 artists from 103 countries in our half-decade of existence!
What they’re saying about us…
A meeting place for arts, human rights and the government. This is a new kind of coming together.
Dr Sarah Sayeed, Senior Advisor in the NYC Community Affairs Unit, specializing in Muslim outreach
IHRAF is one of the only festivals of its kind. The world urgently needs artists who are creating work about human rights - especially at this point in our divisive times.
Christina Evans, Performance Artist, California
The reaction of enthusiasm from the audience showed us that IHRAF was more than just a festival to perform at--it was a platform for artistic exchange on how to use the arts to challenge the world. Love the work IHRAF does!
Shilpa Darivemula, Aseemkala Initiative
I have so much gratitude to be welcomed under the diverse & inclusive umbrella that is IHRAF. It is a gift to receive support from an organization that truly understands the role of art and it's intimate connection to activism, as a vital component to the sustainability and positive growth of our world.
Mara Rosenbloom, pianist, improviser, composer, educator
This is truly a festival for everyone and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to perform at the IHRAF. Tom is a real thought leader who has a clear vision of the role of the arts in the current world. The festival was also a great place to connect with other passionate artists and become inspired.
Sora Baek, Playwright/Performer
Of many festivals in NYC, this one aligned perfectly with my own values and the values that are inherent in my show. A great organization, very accommodating and supportive of the performer. They had a real plan for marketing that assured a good house. Start to finish, I couldn't have been more pleased with my IHRAF experience.
Mark Lanham, Playwright/Performer
In my view, IHRAF is one of the most powerful movements of the 21st century, and it is here to stay. IHRAF has revolutionized human rights through the use of arts.
Wole Adedoyin, Director, IHRAF African Secretariat
The International Human Rights Art Festival is doing an amazing work by empowering creative writers and providing them with the tools, resources and support they need to create lasting change. By fostering a community of artists and activists united in their pursuit of social justice, IHRAF has established itself as a beacon of hope and a catalyst for change, harnessing the transformative power of art to make the world a better place.
Stanley Umezulike, Nigeria
The International Human Rights Art Festival is the platform of possibilities and eternal optimism. It is IHRAF founder Tom Block’s brave vision that gives these new, emerging and established writers and artists an opportunity to stand up for what they believe in through their art and writing. His initiatives and projects encourage, invite and spur change to happen. Without doubt, thanks to Tom Block’s unwavering support for human rights and the arts.
Kelly Kaur, Singapore/Canada