Talk & Workshop: Queer Art?
ArtGora Forum Riga, 2019
At: ArtGora Forum Riga ◼︎ 10.-12.04.2019
In this Queer Art Workshop we will be taking a look at the following topic: POCs*, Queers* and other people facing oppression have always been on the forefront of cultural movements. Oppression produces resistance and the oppressed have to be creative to find ways to survive. This creativity often results in brilliance, but due to a lack of resources, networks and a public voice, it can often only be acknowledged after it has been appropriated by members of the mainstream society.
How can we break this circle?
Do we want to break this circle?
Where would a shift in power relations actually leave us?
Seeing the turn that world politics is taking, we, the people who’ve been working towards and hoping for more equality for so long, need to stand united and strong. But how can we do that in a way that uplifts and includes ALL people? How can we decolonize art, culture, creative spaces as well as queer communities and society in general? How to deal with, accept and let go of appropriation? How to deal with anger, frustration, misunderstandings, hate and ignorance? And how can we use and acknowledge these experiences in our creative forms of expression and resistance?
TQU (www.transnational-queer-underground.net) has been a platform for queer art and activism since 2009 and wants to facilitate more discussion around these topics. As a first step #TheGalleryProject was initiated in 2016 and over 40 artists from four continents have shared their artwork on TQU as a result. Some of the artworks were also shown in five exhibitions in Europe over the following two years
In this workshop, Verena, the founder of TQU and #TheGalleryProject will introduce you to the history of queer resistance and art and we will then creatively explore these topics, our own experiences and find out how we can change things ourselves.
About ArtGora Forum
#ArtGoraRiga Forum is a regional platform for art activists and cultural professionals working to raise awareness on gender inequalities for a more just society in the Baltic Sea region and Eastern Partnership countries, particularly Georgia and Ukraine.
On 10-12 April, the Latvian capital Riga will host the regional forum ArtGora on artivism for gender equality.
The programme is designed around three objectives:
* Exchange ideas, opinions, and good practices between activists in the arts and creative industries who are working on promoting gender equality.
* Debate on the role of arts in promoting gender equality in the target countries.
* Generate innovative ideas and partnerships for future regional collaboration.
FORMAT
* Peer to peer learning space – practitioners lab of workshops
* Agora space – Open Mic and ArtGora Café.
* Networking „Maidan“ – speed and slow dating for learning, exchange and building collaborations
We will have a special edition of Talk Real | Art Real show by European Alternatives.
Official working language of the Forum is English.
PROJECT PARTNERS
National Museums of World Culture (Sweden), Tartu University (Estonia), Riga Technical University (Latvia), Centre for Equality Advancement (Lithuania), Foundation Laboratory of Research and Social Action SocLab (Poland), European Alternatives (Germany), Taso Foundation (Georgia), and Poruch (Ukraine).
In collaboration with: Women’s NGOs Cooperation Network of Latvia, Tartu Women’s Support and Information Centre (Estonia)
With the support of the Swedish Institute Svenska institutet
and the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
