Description
On 15 September, the Queer Series will travel to NEVERNEVERLAND to start off the 12 hour-long queer art festival Klittenband. For #4, we invited Polish artist Karol Radziszewski, who in his artistic practice aims to create more public visibility for LGBTQI+ histories, mainly those focusing on Central and Eastern Europe. Radziszewski is the founder of the 'Queer Archives Institute' (QAI): a non-profit artist-run organisation dedicated to research, collect and disclose queer archives and documents in this region.The event starts with a screening of 'Kisieland' (2012). The title refers to Ryszard Kisiel, founder and publisher of the first communist-era gay zine 'Filo'. In the video, several hundred photos from Kisiel’s archive are brought to light. It features an artistic event with a distinctly gay theme, at the home of a friend of Kisiel. These pictures were taken at the time of campaign 'Hyacinth': a secret operation by the Polish state police with the purpose to register all Polish homosexuals, which took place between 1985-87. The photos are also a testimony of the early AIDS years, the memory of which is limited and still remains in an intimate public sphere. Altogether, they reveal a parallel, safe sphere contrasting the violent persecution operation of sexual minorities. The film also defies presumed cold-war era oppositions between the former East and West. It makes apparent a transnational wave of queer culture.
After the screening, Radziszewski will elaborate on his socially engaged artistic practice, followed by a conversation with artist and researcher Philipp Gufler. Gufler is a research member of the forum homosexualität münchen, a platform dedicated to remembering movements as well as to stimulating cultural exchange concerning LGBTQI+ communities. In their exchange Radziszewski and Gufler will discuss the meaning of queer archives to LGBTQI+ communities, and the importance of preserving queer heritage. Magdalena Górska, assistant professor Gender Studies at Utrecht University, will moderate the conversation.
| Period | 15 Sept 2017 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Queer Series #4: the Act of Archiving |
| Event type | Other |
| Location | Amsterdam, NetherlandsShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |