In May and June, 2017 we have received 27 applications for participating in OPENSPACE. Seven activist and art initiatives have been selected: they will become a part of QUEERFEST in September 2017. Let’s get to know each other.

“KIT”; Samara, Russia
The KIT initiative will come to QUEERFEST presenting their documentary “Are you a boy or a girl?” Visitors of the festival will meet people who go beyond the division on men and women and who do not feel belonging to either male or female. “Are you a girl or a boy?” is the most frequent asked question for the characters of the film. How could one answer it? Is it worth answering? Discover more about KIT

QUEERPOINT, Makeover Studio – Studio of Gender Transformations; St Petersburg, Russia
Olga Zhgun, a stylist and the founder of QUEERPOINT, will conduct a workshop called “Personal Identity Symbols. Path towards Ourselves”. Olga has been working with gender transformations and a personal style for eight years. During this period, the stylist has acquired an efficient technique, which allows people who do not follow heteronormativity to become aware of their own sexuality. Look at the beautiful QUEERPOINT web-site

“Resource LGBTQIA Moscow”, Centre for Social, Psychological and Cultural Projects; Moscow, Russia
“Resource LGBTQIA Moscow” will present a narrative film screening “Live Stories. Expression of Meanings”. The film tells about an event where participants share their stories and respond to the stories of others; it happens face to face but, at the same time, in a common circle. In the film, the participants of a performance who are representatives of the LGBT community tell each other stories about relationships; their stories are moving, funny, bitter; but, most importantly, they are very sincere. They confess their love, laugh, cry, dance tango… Read about “Resource”

“Telaboratoria”; Russia, the US
“Telaboratoria” is creative body techniques for the LGBT community. At QUEERFEST, Dasha Che, the founder of Telaboratoria, will organize an event “Empathy: Muscle of LGBT activism”; this will be a training session about empathy consisting of personal stories and a number of individual and group exercises. Read about Telaboratoria

Maailmanloppu: Project Theatre; St Petersburg, Russia
Maailmanloppu is an art initiative; its main activities focus on disclosing bans and taboos, expanding a field for discussions, breaking into the current discourse through the use of modern theatre and performance techniques and modern art practices. At the festival, the initiative will present the play called “No Gravity: Documentary Readings by t[Bodies]”. More details about the theatre

LGBT organization “Labrys”; Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Diana Arsen’eva, an activist from LGBT-organization “Labrys”, will hold a workshop about story-telling, in particular, how this tool can be used in activism and what story-telling consist of. Moreover, she will tell about their organization’s experience in story-telling. More details about “Labrys”

Association of Russian Speaking Intersex (ARSI); Russian, Kazakhstan, Germany, the US
ARSI is an international organization; its participants live in Russia, Kazakhstan, Germany and the US. At the festival, the Association will hold a participatory event with intersex people. Get to know ARSI