Le Salon Queertronique – 5 Years Festival (ALLOU)

Five years of queer-electronic Salon

In 2019, Hamburg-based artist and DJ Saeleen Bouvar – founder of Transtronica – launched the club and performance series "Le Salon Queertronique" at Kampnagel. Since then, the format has grown into one of the most important queer trans venues in the German-speaking world – with irregular nights that regularly sell out and are aimed at trans people and queer allies. In 2026, it is celebrated with a three-day anniversary festival.

ALLOU – the stage for trans sound

The festival's title – "ALLOU" – comes from the Greek word for "elsewhere". With it, the festival takes a programmatic stance: this is not about playing trans identity as a footnote to dominant club culture, but about creating a space where trans artists are the central stage. Saeleen Bouvar puts it this way: "A dance floor of resistance, where trans art does not accompany history but makes it."

Chinyere as central artist

Chinyere – a Hamburg-based, internationally active artist on the queer-electronic scene – stands at the centre of the festival as sound residency. She shapes the sonic space, curates special passages and works alongside Aiel (ambient-influenced club sets), Murderkinq (merging music and literature) and Saeleen Bouvar herself, whose sets of Braindance, IDM and spoken-word-trans-talk define the profile of the Salon series.

Beat-heavy, polyrhythmic, wild

Musically, the festival is deliberately hard and uncompromising: beat-heavy electronic music, polyrhythmic pieces, IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), Braindance, ambient sets as a bridge between the intense phases. A video installation accompanies the proceedings. The texts and spoken-word passages move through trans history, queer theory and personal narratives – which clearly sets the festival apart from purely audio-centred club nights.

Kampnagel – International stage

For years, Kampnagel has been one of the most important international stages for independent theatre, dance and experimental performance in Germany. With several halls of different sizes (K1 to K6 plus the Maschinenhalle), barrier-free access and a marked tradition of giving voice to marginalised communities, the venue is an ideal fit for the Salon Queertronique programme. Located in the Hamburg-Nord district (Winterhude neighbourhood), Kampnagel is easily reached via U-Bahn line U3 (Saarlandstraße) and bus routes.

In the federal state of Hamburg

Hamburg has a strong queer subculture, historically tied to the Schanzenviertel, Karolinenviertel and St. Georg neighbourhoods. With formats such as Hamburg Pride in August, the MELT Foundation programming at Übel & Gefährlich and Salon Queertronique at Kampnagel, a multifaceted scene has taken shape. The 2026 anniversary festival of Salon Queertronique is one of the most prominent trans focal points in this network and one of the most distinguished queer cultural formats of the year in the federal state of Hamburg.