The festival has announced a last-minute talk, in response to last weekend’s events in Warsaw.
Last Friday (7 August), LGBTQ+ activist Malgorzata Szutowicz was placed in pre-trial detention on the charges of assaulting a driver whose truck displayed an anti-LGBTQ+ banner. Hundreds of protestors took to Warsaw to denounce her arrest that day. 48 people were detained and some protestors were injured. Over the weekend, thousands protested against Szutowicz’s arrest and police aggression. Protests were held across the world, in Budapest, London, New York, Paris and Berlin. Social media users took to Twitter to post about the event using the hashtag #PolishStonewall.
In response to the protests, Polish festival Unsound has organised a talk titled Zone-Free Zone: Poland’s LGBTQ+ Community in the Arts and Activism. Participants include DJ Avtomat from Oramics, philosopher Ewa Majewska, film director Bart Staszewski and artistic director of Berlin’s Tanztage Mateusz Szymanówka. The discussion will take a look at how art, performance and club-rooted practices can contribute to the movement, and how art forms have done so in the past. The talk will be held this Sunday (16 August) and streamed via Unsound’s channels.
You can show your support for the movement by donating to anti-homophobia group Stop Bzdurom. Sign a petition campaigning for Szutowicz’s release here.