Festival
Queer Zagreb meÄ‘unarodni je multimedijalni festival, koji prouÄava druÅ¡tvene norme u tranzicijskom druÅ¡tvu kroz umjetnost, teoriju i aktivizam. Jedan od najvećih festivala te vrste u regiji, specifiÄno pokriva ”queer” identitet kroz prizmu umjetnosti, plesa, glazbe i filma.
IstoÄna Europa, toÄnije Balkan, proÅ¡li su kroz seriju tranzicija u zadnja dva desetljeća – politiÄke, ekonomske i druÅ¡tvene transformacije koje su utjecale na sve javne i privatne aspekte života u tim zemljama. Proces transformacije joÅ¡ uvijek traje i direktno je povezan s politiÄkom demokratizacijom, razvojem koncepta ljudskih prava i individualnih sloboda, prihvaćanja razliÄitosti itd.
Umjetnost ima i imat će važnu ulogu u trenutnim, kontinuiranim i progresivnim promjenama prezentiranjem radova umjetnika koji preispituju norme, izazivaju tradicionalne naÄine razmiÅ¡ljanja, proÅ¡iruju vidove identiteta i upoznaju sa estetikom koja ranije nije bila vidljiva ili dovoljno rasprostranjena. Jedna od takvih platformi je od 2003. godine u Hrvatskoj upravo Queer Zagreb festival, koji je s vremenom postao najveći festival te vrste u Europi i jedan od glavnih meÄ‘unarodnih kazaliÅ¡nih i plesnih festivala u Hrvatskoj i regiji. Dosad se na festivalu predstavilo viÅ¡e od 300 umjetnika iz cijelog svijeta.
Queer Zagreb je odgovorio na potrebu za prezentiranjem umjetnosti koja je drugaÄija, koja izaziva druÅ¡tvene norme, uvoÄ‘enjem novih koncepata identiteta u sferu javnosti – relevantnim umjetniÄkim programom kao idealnim medijem koji dopire do Å¡ire publike i podiže svijest. Kako je festival zapravo uveo termin queer u Å¡iru upotrebu, bilo je moguće redefinirati sam termin kao neÅ¡to Å¡to ne ispada iz norme, subverzivno, no ne i nasilno, kao termin koji je inkluzivan, ne ekskluzivan. Redefiniranjem, bilo je moguće prezentirati umjetnike Äiji rad se takoÄ‘er bavi sa razliÄitim aspektima nemogućnosti, etniciteta, rase, isto kao i rodnim i seksualnim identitetima. Festival je kreirao kontekst gdje je uobiÄajeno, oÄekivano i vrlo usku razumijevanje queera – marginalizirano, stereotipno, burleskno, drag – suoÄeno sa vrlo snažnim novim kontekstom i konceptom queera kao platforme za izvrsnost u umjetnosti, Å¡to je druÅ¡tveno i politiÄki važno zbog odvažnosti otvorenog govora o razliÄitim normama koje Äine druÅ¡tvo i umjetniÄku praksu.
Iz iskustva konstantnog Å¡irenja znaÄenja i opsega termina queer organiziranjem meÄ‘unarodnog queer festivala u istoÄnoj Europi, gdje se prezentiraju neoÄekivane definicije queera, dolazi realizacija da se usporedno sužavanje termina queer sistematiÄno dogaÄ‘alo i u drugim takozvanim ‘queer centrima svijeta’ – Berlinu, Amsterdamu, Sydneyu, New Yorku i drugima.
DugoroÄni efekt i teÅ¡ki krug tranzicije i osiromaÅ¡avanja queera i njegovih Å¡irih znaÄenje, doveo je do toga da Äak i umjetnici Äesto izbjegavaju etiketiranje jer to vide kao neÅ¡to Å¡to bi suzilo i definiralo ih na ograniÄavajući naÄin. Zapravo bi trebalo biti suprotno – Å¡to znaÄi, na queer bi trebalo gledati kao na simboliÄni naglasak dodan njihovom radu, a ne kao nedostatak koji može odvratiti Å¡iru publiku.
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Queer Zagreb is an international multimedia festival, which examines the social norms in the transitional society through art, theory and activism. One of the largest festivals of its kind in the region, specifically covers “queer†identity through the prism of art, dance, music and film.
Eastern Europe, and specifically the Balkan region, has been going through a series of transitions in the past two decades – political, economic and social transformations that have affected every aspect of public and private life in those countries. The process of transformation is still underway and is still directly linked to further political democratization, development of the mere concept of human rights and individual freedoms, diversity acceptance, etc. The arts have played and continue to play a significant role in these ongoing and progressive changes by presenting work by artists who question norms, challenge traditional lines of thinking, widen the notions of identity and introduce aesthetics previously not as visible or prevalent. One such platform since 2003 in Croatia has been the Queer Zagreb festival, which grew to be the biggest such festival in Europe and one of the major international theater and dance festivals in Croatia and the region. The festival presented in total more than 300 artists from all over the world.
Queer Zagreb has responded to a need of presenting work that is different, that challenges social norms, introducing new concepts of identity into the public sphere – a relevant artistic program was an ideal medium to reach a wide audience and raise awareness. As the festival actually introduced the term queer to a wider public use, it was possible to redefine the term queer as anything outside of the norm, as subversive yet not violent, as a term that is inclusive rather than exclusive. By this redefinition, it was possible to present artists whose work was also dealing with different aspects of disabilities, ethnicities, race, as well as gender and sexual identities. The festival created a context where the usual, expected and very narrow understanding of queer—marginalized, stereotypical, burlesque-type, drag—was confronted by a powerful new context and concept of queer being a platform for excellence in arts, that is both socially and politically relevant while daring to speak openly about the different norms that constitute society and artistic practice.
From this experience of constantly widening the meaning and scope of the term queer by organizing an international queer festival in Eastern Europe where we presented the unexpected definitions of queer, comes the realization that a parallel narrowing of the term queer has systematically been taking place in the so called “queer centers†of the world – Berlin, Amsterdam, Sydney, London, New York, and others.
The long term effect and vicious circle of this transition and impoverishment of queer and its wider meanings is that even artists often avoid the label since they see it as something that would narrow and define them in a limiting way. It should actually be the contrary – that is, queer should be seen as symbolic capital to be added to their work rather than a handicapping definition that could alienate wider audiences.
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Domino je korisnik Institucionalne podrške Nacionalne zaklade za razvoj civilnoga društva za stabilizaciju i/ili razvoj udruge.