Even as urban legends of The Algorithm set a trend of more selfie-oriented promotion, the rave flyer remains essential to the nightlife ecosystem. A great flyer builds anticipation and sets expectation; it establishes the tone of a party before we even walk in the door. At its best, the poster screams out in coded language that only its intended audience can hear, pulling in the exact crowd the party is meant to host. Our experiences in nightlife may be ephemeral, but a good flyer can unlock memories years down the road.

This collection isn't a "best of" or ranked list, but a wide-ranging sample of high-concept compositions, clever typography, eye-catching illustrations, and a healthy dash of irreverence. My goal is to elevate this incredible artwork and the brilliant artists who often don't receive credit for their hard work. I want to make room for these pieces to breathe away from the confines of Instagram and place them in conversation with each other. Long-term, I hope this will serve as inspiration for designers and promoters as they plan their next party.

A few more notes:

• My only strict criteria for inclusion is legibility. All of the necessary info - lineup, location, date, time - needs to be easy to read in grayscale. There were a lot of illegible flyers this year.
• I know this is futile, but – I recommend viewing on a bigger screen. It's accessible on a phone, but these are large, detailed pieces.
• I've done my best to identify the designers and artists, but a few are still unknown. If you can help fill in the blanks or if I've incorrectly credited a piece, please drop me a line!

Without further ado, here are seventy-three rave fliers I loved in 2022.

Choose Your BRB Raver: Nétienne

Hobbies: My victorian-era roleplay ASMR channel, home chemistry 🧪

Pre-Rave Routine: Hot tea, fresh fruit, and trancing out to some binaural beats 🌀

The NYC Spot: In front of the bass bins with all your boos 😉

Looking forward to: Throwing some shapes to Tristan Arp b2b Simisea

One time Cesie was pressed for a flyer. I was tired and pressed on another deadline. He said “just make anything!” …I gave y’all butts for faces. Party tonight at Flamingo.

Hoo doggy, my eyes about melted outta my head on this one. @jonathantoubin is bringing the Sunday Soul Scream back to the @ourwickedlady rooftop this summer. I dug through close to 50 photos from past Soul Scream parties and cherry picked some folks for this poster so, dig in, as best as you can on your screen, and see if YOU made the cut.

Dearest Comrades,

The undersigned Central Committee of the People’s Party of Unterslovakia considers it indispensable for the LXXIIIth Congress of the Party to begin its work, underground, in New York City, no later than 19 November 2022. We call upon you—the nation of ravers—to unite and mobilize in support of achieving our collective goals.

Aim and Tactic:

The new 74th International shall be based on the following principles, which we present as the UNTER Porty Platform:

1. The present is the period of destruction and the crushing of the whole world by the steamroller of the integrated world capitalistic system. The queer future will be nothing short of catastrophe should the party fail and capitalism, with all its incommensurable contradictions, not be done away with. The aim of the raving class must now be immediately to seize power. To seize power means to destroy bourgeois infrastructural apparatuses, organizing ever-new siqq parties to go off in their place.

2. Now is the occasion for the immediate elimination of the private right to own the means of porty production: we demand the immediate socialization of both large- and small-scale venues and the central governing bodies organized by the same. This call to action includes occupying the clerbs; eradicating the corporate chokehold on talent distribution; abolishing all radius clauses; establishing a night workers’ union; and affirming the people’s embodied right to dance at the gravesite of bourgeois neoliberalism—these are the most essential aims of the day.

3. During the pandemic and after the precipitous rise of commercial real-estate prices, it has become clear not only that the old socialistic and social-democratic parties in the New York underground have gone financially bankrupt and remain unable to cope with the costs, but also that the time is nigh for the actualization of our commie pinko rave fantasia at the end of the world as we know it. Queer ravers of the world unite!

Yours in the struggle,
The Central Committee of the People’s Party of Unterslovakia

Presiding Party Secretaries:
Claire Morgan, Jamaica Suk, Juana
Saturday, November 19, 2022
Brooklyn Warehouse Location TBA
11:59pm-8am

Beyond Brooklyn

Because there is, in fact, a world outside of New York City.