Activism Through Art: Creating Space for Queer Self-Expression and Knowledge
The Local Challenge
In Armenia, queer voices are frequently excluded from cultural institutions, public memory, and official narratives. Opportunities for artistic self-expression are limited by both security concerns and a lack of resources or safe spaces. Queer and feminist perspectives are also at constant risk of erasure due to insufficient documentation and archiving.
For decades, many marginalized individuals have turned to zines – a DIY medium rooted in feminist, anti-capitalist, and anti-colonial traditions – as a way to share art, activism, and lived experience. Yet, these works remain underrecognized, undervalued, and largely absent from institutional collections such as libraries. The lack of preservation means that important expressions of queer and feminist knowledge remain vulnerable to being lost.
The Initiative
This initiative seeks to preserve and amplify queer and feminist expression through zine-making, archiving, and community-led programming. Community members are invited to contribute both completed and in-progress zines, which are digitized, archived, and in some cases reprinted for public exhibition. Together, these materials contribute to a growing digital library, ensuring long-term access for preservation, research, and future use.
Central to the project is a three-day zine festival, co-created with and by the community. The festival features exhibitions, hands-on workshops, performances, and discussions on themes such as queer futures, community care, and feminist resistance. Shaped through collective input, the program positions participants not only as attendees but also as facilitators, ensuring that knowledge production remains inclusive, accessible, and rooted in lived experience.
What’s Next?
The initiative aims to build a sustainable cultural archive and a stronger foundation for queer and feminist self-expression in Armenia. Newly created zines from the festival will be preserved in FemLibrary’s growing digital and physical collection, expanding resources available for future generations. The initiative also seeks to redefine the role of a library for its local community: a place of collective creation, care, and ownership. Beyond immediate outcomes, the model may inspire other cultural institutions to adopt more community-led and inclusive approaches.
Contact theeuropechallenge@culturalfoundation.eu if you have any questions or want to be connected with the team behind the project.
