04 JuneThis symposium explores the intersections of queer and LGBT histories in the Balkans, Slovenia, and Eastern Europe, with broader connections to global trans* insurgencies. It brings together queer theory, political critique, and trans resistance to examine how lesbians, gays, queers, punks, and trans communities have historically—and continue to—confront state power and societal norms. Central themes include poetry, film, photography, radical expression, the body and identity, and the relationship between LGBT, queer, and trans movements and activism. The symposium also engages with decolonial and anti-racist struggles, questioning how these histories are erased or overlooked in dominant narratives. The aim is to reconstruct and amplify alternative histories while envisioning future queer and trans* uprisings within leftist political movements.
The exhibition was realized in cooperation with ZRC SAZU and supported by Cankarjev dom, Ministrstvo za kulturo RS, Muzej novejše in sodobne zgodovine Slovenije, Moderna Galerija, Luminus, and A.K.T; Pforzheim. In North Macedonia the exhibition was realized by Coalition MARGINS, in the frame of the Skopje Pride Weekend – Festival for Queer Art, Culture and Theory 2025. Partners for the exhibition in North Macedonia are the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje and the LGBTI Support Center. The exhibition in Skopje received additional support from ZRC SAZU, Ljubljana, Slovenia, and its Director, Dr. Oto Luthar, as well as from A.K.T; Pforzheim, Germany, and its artistic director Janusz Czech; and Heincrich Böll Stiftung. This is the fifth edition of the exhibition Slovenian Punk & Photography, which originally premiered at Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana (5.12.2023–11.2.2024). The second edition was presented internationally at A.K.T; in Pforzheim, Germany (27.4.2024–26.5.2024). The third edition was held in August/September 2024 at PAVELHAUS | PAVLOVA HIŠA, Laafeld/Potrna 30, A-8490 Bad Radkersburg (Austria). The fourth edition took place in November 2024 at SKCNS, Studentski Kulturni Centar Novi Sad (Serbia). In Skopje, the exhibition provides insight into the crucial role of photography in documenting and serving as a vehicle for the expression of the Slovenian punk movement and other subcultural events from 1977 to the mid-1980s, as well as the periods before and after punk.
Symposium: On Queer, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, and Global Trans* Insurgencies
