Project description: Recognising that women’s artistic production and gender equality in the arts often remain overlooked, the project Promoting Gender Equality through Engaged Art in Niš created an expanded space for women artists to explore and promote issues related to women’s human rights through a wide range of artistic activities. The project’s key activities were the 11th ArtFemine Festival and the 10th Feminist Art Colony in Sićevo.
The four-day festival featured 16 events addressing visual arts, activism, women’s mental health, femicide, the position of women in the arts and society, creative expression, and women’s literary work, with the participation of 23 women artists and speakers. The festival opened with the exhibition Woman as a Rock, presenting works created by participants of the previous, 9th Feminist Art Colony in Sićevo.
Activists from the Girls’ Centre staged the performance Women’s Cemetery in the centre of Niš, distributed leaflets on violence against women and femicide, and organised a public discussion on preventing violence against women. The discussion addressed mechanisms for protecting women from violence, the role of institutions in providing protection and support, common misconceptions about gender-based violence, and the importance of activism. Anđela Čeh from the Egal Association presented research on violence in lesbian relationships.
The festival programme also included a series of art workshops, book promotions featuring women authors, the stand-up performance You Rock, Irena by comedian Jagoda Jovanović, and the DJ performance Brilliant, Strong, Free by DJ Alex. The latter two events attracted the largest audiences of the festival.
The 10th Feminist Art Colony in Sićevo brought together ten visual artists from across the region. As part of the accompanying programme, participants attended a workshop on gender-sensitive language and watched Maja Mitić’s authorial lecture-performance In the Embrace of the Forgotten, dedicated to women from Serbian history, culture, and science whose contributions have been overlooked.
The project strengthened the community of women artists, enriched Niš’s cultural scene, and raised public awareness of the position of women in the arts and culture.
Grant amount: 1,650,000.00 RSD
