The Thessaloniki Queer Arts Festival has welcomed proposals from across disciplines, including but not limited to visual artworks, poetry and writing, workshops, performances, video and film, community interventions and talks or lectures that investigated the question: What is Identity?
These will be presented through physical interventions in Thessaloniki, as well as through a curated series of social media, blog, and website posts and videos, according to the needs of each selected project.
Through a programme of physical and online interventions, TQAF 2021 aims to offer a platform for underrepresented LGBTQIA+ artists, cultural practitioners, writers and activists from across the world to share their practice and connect with peers in the months of May, June and July in 2021.
The festival will explore themes of performed identity, colonialism, lived histories, trans experience and the ever-changing and dynamic construction of the self.
Thessaloniki Queer Arts Festival (TQAF) is a grassroots initiative that sets out to alter deeply entrenched misconceptions and prejudices toward the queer and LGBTQIA community through artistic and cultural practices.
The festival was founded in 2018, and is led by a dedicated team of volunteers, including Tomas Diafas, Dominic Sylvia Lauren, Vassia Magoula, Evi Minou, Aristea Rellou, Annie Tsevdomaria and Magda Vaz, who endeavour to provide queer artists with a platform to investigate sociocultural phenomena relating to queer identities and experiences. TQAF has been formed through collaborations in which our team has collectively curated the festival program.
The festival is driven by the belief that art has the power to open new avenues of communication as well as serve as a bridge between a diverse array of individuals and social groups. TQAF aims to foster dialogues and develop alternative methods for addressing social discrimination.
Thessaloniki is strategically located between the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East, regions where LGBTQIA communities are often marginalised. As we develop strategies for addressing prejudice and resistance to queer inclusiveness in Greece, TQAF will serve as a political and inspirational link to neighbouring societies. As a breeding ground for queer discourse and artistic creation, we hope that the festival’s impact will extend beyond the borders of Greece.
Aicha Josefa Trinidad Gououi, Alexandros Tsonis, Kosta Karakashyan, Lucía García Martín, MAx Provenzano & Vassia Magoula
Annie Tsevdomaria, Evi Minou & Magda Vaz
OUTREACH & WORKSHOP COORDINATION
