The Queer Poster Archive in Athens, GR
The Queer Poster Archive is a project I’ve received funding for through Culture Moves Europe, an initiative by the Goethe-Institut providing mobility grants for artists in European countries. As a queer and genderqueer person from an Orthodox country, I was surprised and impressed by the passing of the new legislation in Greece in February, legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption. I wanted a means to connect with the local community in Athens and see what this move felt like for actual queer folks - how this made them feel, how they expect it will impact their lives going forward, what their genuine opinion is.
Through my international partners, the women- and queer-owned Lalava Workshops, I launched an open call and got to meet people in the community who shared in informal interviews with me their feelings on the matter and agreed to be part of my illustrated poster archive. Just in time for Pride month 2024, my posters are now all over Athens showcasing real people taking up space and speaking up about the legislation in a country still very much governed by conservative, religious beliefs.
It was important for me as an artist that each poster was as unique as the person it represented. So beyond the questions regarding their feelings towards the new legislation and their position as a queer person in Greece, one thing I was interested in my one-to-one interviews with the sources was also finding out more about what they're like, the things they like, their style and personality. I tried to integrate that in the visual decisions I made for each individual poster.
After printing the posters locally, my girlfriend studying in Athens helped me put them up in designated signposting areas specifically in Exarcheia and Kypseli neighborhoods, as well as the campus of Panteion University of Athens.