Oscar Wilde famously said, “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.” Successful stand-up comedians, from Ellen Degeneres to Margaret Cho, know this all too well and use their talent not only to sell out HBO specials, but to further positive social change.

This year’s Exposure Festival in Edmonton plans to do the same as they embark on their 4th anniversary with the theme of Laughing at Ourselves. A queer arts and culture festival with a broadening audience, Exposure’s current programming boasts Ian Harvie, the world’s first transgendered FTM comic who has toured extensively with Margaret Cho. Hosting his own show and performing on MTV and various notable festivals, Harvey is known for his ability to put audiences of diverse backgrounds at ease, cutting directly to the core of the human condition, in all its infinite strangeness.

The Festival works to cultivate an environment that welcomes and celebrates a variety of artists from Edmonton and beyond. One event that highlights Alberta-based performers is Lady Fag, a cabaret-style event of queer performance, featuring work by host and organizer Elaine Wannechko, spoken word artist Derek Warwick, and Calgary based theatre-makers Jamie Tea and Jared Knapp.

Wannechko, a multi-disciplinary artist and story-teller, has been involved with Exposure since it began.

“I am drawn to queer art because it is inherently politically motivated,” she says. “Queer art is an avenue where people can show and/or see a diversity of ideologies represented, in contrast to hetero-normative ones that are more readily available.”

One of her inspirations for the title of Lady Fag was an exploration of words and their history of being used to abuse certain people.

“I am interested in the idea of the re-appropriation of words/symbols that have been used to degrade a ‘type’ of people. Some words/symbols are more successfully re-appropriated than others, but why is that? Sometimes re-appropriation is not possible; there are many reasons why people may reject words that are born out of fear and hatred.”

Wannechko is hosting Lady Fag as three of her well-known characters; first as Elaine Gail, “a slightly cooler version of myself”, then as Andro Andy the androgynous super-hero, and finally as Ben Sover, an ungainly bisexual drag king.

“The characters I assume are humourous, awkward, and queer in multi-faceted ways. My live performances rely less on script and more on visuals such as body language, gestures, facial expressions, costumes, and props. I use performance to propose alternative viewpoints to normative culture in general and to hetero-normative culture specifically. I really love the immediacy of live performance and the ways it can affect an audience.”

For those who wait all year for the Fringe Festival, Exposure seems like a great chance to get a refreshing dose of queer themed content and see artists that may quickly become your new favourites.

“There’s a good mix of local and national talent, which is ultimately what we want to achieve: showcase homegrown talent and also acts that wouldn’t otherwise come to the city,” says Karen Campos, Communications and Marketing Director for the Festival.

Although she’s been involved with Exposure for 3 years, this is Campos’ first year in this position, and she’s excited about being able to bring her perspective to the table.

“As a queer person of colour that tends to be under represented in Edmonton, I welcome the opportunity to help shape the festival into something that is more dynamic and inclusive,” says Campos.

She has also set out to engage Exposure with the community at large by relaunching their blog, and basing their online presence around promoting a variety of events and working with a variety of organizations, queer or not.

“There’s so much room for organizations/groups to help each other out and to exchange tools and resources. Ultimately, it’s also an exchange in marketing and brand awareness for everyone involved. We’re excited about creating new working relationships.”

But it’s not all about comedy and networking. A noteworthy aspect of Exposure is their intentional focus on queer youth and creating opportunities for them to express and explore their artistic abilities. Last year their Queer Youth Curators show, Printed Matters: Creating and Curating queer, received the highest amount of submissions in its 3 year history. This year’s Youth Workshop, iQueer, is presented by Edmonton based Actor/Producer/Writer Chris Craddock, whose award-winning work has been internationally produced.

“iQueer is meant to be a multi-disciplinary exploration event for queer youth to work in any of a variety of forms,” says Craddock. “We are hoping to see youth creating in theatre, with visual art, slam poetry, music, and possibly even video and music. We hope to be able to offer a chance for any kid to do exactly the kind of creation he or she wants to do, in a safe space, with only thematic focuses for a guideline. The best and bravest will be displayed that very night at the closing party.”

Reluctantly, Craddock admits that his first foray into writing for Young Audiences was inspired by a want ad.

“Azimuth Theatre was looking for outlines on a play about teen suicide, a subject I knew a little something about, and I applied with a first draft. It was accepted, and this started a journey for me that has seen me create five new plays for Young Audiences, and contribute as an artist to many more. I love TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences) as a form for its democratic reach into audiences of all economic backgrounds. Theatre for adults goes to people of a certain economic class these days, but in schools, it’s for everyone. Young people have not yet made up their minds about the world, and art is an important part of building intelligent, well-rounded and compassionate citizens.”

Craddock is passionate about the arts being accessible and available to youth, and the importance of artists being involved in festivals such as Exposure.

“Youth are at a tough time in their lives, and as such can be emotional. While this is often an issue in a classroom setting, in art these impulses are encouraged. I love to see youth discover an art form, find their voice within an art form, and figure out what they want to say. Art, and the reactions art provokes, are the leading tools of self-definition available in our society. Queer youth may not have examples inside their homes, and thus positive role models are even more important.”

Another Festival highlight for young and old is dubpoet, educator, actor and award-winning playwright d’bi Young. Born in Jamaica, raised in Whitfield, Kingston and in downtown Toronto, d’bi Young is a meeting place of Afrikan-Caribbean-Canadian diasporic culture and experience. She identifies primarily as a storyteller, believing that storytelling encompasses everything she does. Young is one of Canada’s most celebrated artists, winning the 2007 Toronto Arts Council’s emerging artist award. She has performed, published, and lectured locally, nationally and internationally. At Exposure, Young will be holding a workshop with local queers of colour, who will then perform alongside her that evening.

“D’bi is an amazing poet who does a lot of work around race and identity which, as a person of colour, is really lacking in the city,” says Karen Campos. “I think this is part of the greater exchange that the Festival aims to do in terms of learning and evolving with help from the artists that are part of the festival.”

For audiophiles, 24-year-old Toronto musician Diamond Rings may surprise you with his unique mixture of vulnerable lyrics, glamorous live sets, and bright rainbow eye shadow.

Laugh, cry, write, sing, volunteer, or watch - this year’s Festival has something for everyone in the rainbow.