“I am here” – Perpectives on queer-feminist Activism in Belarus Filmscreening und Diskussion mit Nick Antipov (he/him; Co-Founder of DasHip/ ДазХіп) Alina Pazdniakova (they/them; Queer-Activist)

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In this session, we aim to highlight queer-(feminist) struggles in Eastern Europe. The film „I am here“ seeks to preserve and amplify the voices of young queer individuals from Belarus. We are pleased to invite filmmaker Nick Antipov and queer, non-binary activist Alina Pazdniakova to join us. This video project shares the stories of young LGBTQ+ individuals from Belarus, with the goal of amplifying queer Belarusian voices and ensuring their experiences are not erased from the broader narrative. They have faced shared challenges, and now they are here. Their stories deserve to be heard.

In the context of our exhibition, this film screening also highlights Yael Bartana’s views on Eastern Europe, where she has family roots. The first women’s circle included many women from all over Europe and discussed the constitutions of Poland and France in 1791, as well as the current rights in the German states. In fact, to halt the Polish-Lithuanian democratic process, German, Austrian, and most importantly, Russian colonialism spread over Eastern Europe, shaping the geopolitical landscape to this day. The feminist struggle that Henriette Goldschmidt faced in Warsaw in the 1850s continues in the queer-feminist battle of Nick Antipov and Alina Pazdniakova in Belarus. We hope to connect our experiences of post-socialism and its specific queerphobia, to learn from the Belarusian struggles, and to explore how queer-feminist and post-socialist democrats can support each other.

Nick Antipov is a human rights and LGBTQ+ activist, Co-Founder, and Project Manager of MAKEOUT, an antidiscrimination project empowering the LGBTQ community in Belarus. Nick created a leadership program for young LGBTQ leaders that has fostered a new generation of activists in cities across Belarus. As a political expatriate. Nick  supports LGBTQ+ activists in Belarus from his current home in Berlin. He is Co-Founder of DasHip, a media platform focused on gender and sexuality. Nick has been actively involved in amplifying LGBTQ+ voices in Belarus through various media projects. Currently, he works as a Project Associate for D-Hub – a community of democracy defenders committed to working together to defeat authoritarians, wherever they are.

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