Twin Cities Pride’s Pride Cultural Arts Center: A Year in Review and in Anticipation

Last year, Twin Cities Pride made a huge stride in their mission to empower every LGBTQ+ person to live as their true self by opening the Pride Cultural Arts Center (PCAC). It is not only a physical place where the community can gather to connect, learn, grow and thrive, but it’s also something more intangible: a dynamic platform for queer expression and joy.

Dobbs DeCorsey, the Director of the Pride Cultural Arts Center, is especially proud of the fantastic year that PCAC has had. From hosting tons of events to standing as a constant local resource, PCAC has been busy with the best kind of work.

“Within the first year of the PCAC, we have hosted so many stellar events and collaborated with so many partners across the great state of Minnesota — and beyond!” DeCorsey says.  “Some of my standout events have been our Rainbow Wardrobe Open Houses, Clips & Dips (in collaboration with Vogue Down Minneapolis) and our Artist in Residence gallery openings.”

Each of these projects holds a special place within the queer community, from artistic expression to basic gender-affirming care.

For gender-affirming care, Rainbow Wardrobe is one of the most impactful resources at PCAC. Trans and gender-expansive community members can come to Rainbow Wardrobe to “shop” for clothes that make them feel comfortable, confident and like themselves.

And the best part? Rainbow Wardrobe is completely free. In fact, the majority of Rainbow Wardrobe’s collection, which ranges from hats to makeup to hygiene products to stylish clothes and beyond, is donation-based. The only exceptions are the closet’s gender-affirming undergarments (binders, packing boxers, tucking panties and period boxers), which are all purchased new. In PCAC’s first year of operation, Rainbow Wardrobe bought $40,000 worth of gender-affirming undergarments, helping so many in the community feel seen and comfortable.

The Rainbow Wardrobe is only one part of what the Pride Cultural Arts Center has to offer, however. PCAC also offers an Artist in Residence program, which seeks a mutually beneficial partnership with artists to represent their work and represent Twin Cities Pride to the community and youth.

One of the main goals of their Artist in Residence program, besides uplifting and platforming queer artists, is to show young queer kids that they can be anything they want to be, as long as they live as their authentic selves.

In this past year, PCAC has also focused a lot of its efforts on cultural education — and not just through discussions in the Artist in Residence galleries!

“We educate both formally in classroom-style settings in our event space, but also informally in everyday conversation with people who come through our front door,” DeCorsey says. “We have all walks of life entering the PCAC at any given moment, and we are always willing to have chats with folks, no matter what they may be curious about … and people always come curious!”

PCAC’s first year in operation has been filled with triumphs, including their community aid Pride Pantry, which, according to DeCorsey, “positively supported over 10,000 families over the course of seven weeks.”

But the PCAC team is not resting on their laurels after their successful first year. This upcoming year is set to be even more expansive.

“In the coming year, be on the lookout for new galleries, more events and continued community collaborations with some genuinely queer and colorful folks!” DeCorsey says.

They couldn’t be prouder of the work PCAC has already done, nor more excited for the future projects, exhibitions and events that the team is planning for this year.

“It means everything to me (pageant, I know), but it’s true. I have the most rewarding career in the world,” DeCorsey says. “Every day I get to see the full continuum of humanity and existence … Spaces like the PCAC are so valuable to the community at large because they encourage joy, curiosity and togetherness — even in times of great tumult.”

If you want to check out Twin Cities Pride’s Pride Cultural Arts Center, you can visit in person at 1201 Harmon Pl., Minneapolis, or head to its website, tcpride.org/pride-cultural-arts-center/, to learn more (or donate!)

DeCorsey ends with a final thank you to his community: “I want to give a huge shout out to the rest of the Twin Cities Pride staff and to all our incredible volunteers for always supporting and being the best queer family a gay man could ask for!”

Especially in anxiety-inducing times like these, community and chosen family really are so important. PCAC offers LGBTQ+ people of Minnesota just that.