12th International Feminist and Queer Festival Red Dawns

Welcome to the 12th

International Feminist and Queer

Festival Red Dawns!

The 2011 edition is going to take place in different venues in Autonomous Cultural Center Metelkova mesto and in Zaklonišče (Bomb Shelter), a new venue located in Park slovenske reformacije (former Argentinski park) in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Instead of an intoduction, here are some quotes from the bilingual (Slovene-English) book of interviews with former and current organisers of Red Dawns who reflected on the festival’s contibution to the visibility of feminist and queer politics in Slovenia. The book is going to be released in April 2011 by association KUD Mreža which is also responsible for Red Dawns or, in Slovene, Rdeče zore: the best feminist-queer event in town!

See you!

After I started collaborating with Red Dawns, I felt even more dedicated because I had the opportunity to meet so many people who want to change the world. I am thankful for that. You could say that my feminism became more personal. Also, by bringing in the queer aspect, I saw that feminism goes beyond classic Second Wave themes such as domestic violence, equal pay, and so on. This is what I was focused on before, and with the introduction of a queer perspective, I saw that the specter can be widened. ––Jasmina Jerant

The festival promotes a political, not an apolitical view of feminism. It is raising the level of discussion about feminism in Slovenia. For me, that’s the point of Red Dawns. My general feeling is that the understanding of feminism by alternative and mainstream people in Slovenia is extremely banal and one-sided. It’s all about representation. The media in Slovenia is at a horribly low level when it comes to any comments on feminist issues. For me, our festival is about defying the general view that in the alternative culture men and women are already equal. –Anna Erhrlemark

Red Dawns fest is breaking new ground in Slovenia. And that is really important: that a relatively known festival is opening new themes in the public sphere. Our international collaboration is important for the same reason. You have to bring people from abroad if no one here has thought about a certain issue yet! In addition, the international view brings awareness about the global nature of problems we are dealing with, like the lack of social justice. ––Jasmina Jerant

The festival is based on a contradiction. Feminism and queer are conflicting and wide concepts. And yet, our aim is to open questions about feminist subjects; not to embody, but to discuss them. As I said, the festival is here to raise the level of debate, to create conflicts! That might not be productive in the long run, but I see it as our role: to raise more conflicts both in the local scene and with our foreign guests. We always have conflicts about different concepts, and it’s quite obvious that queer doesn’t mean the same thing in Amsterdam or Belgrade. –Anna Erhrlemark

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<BACK	12th International Feminist and Queer Festival Red Dawns Welcome to the 12th International Feminist and Queer Festival Red Dawns! The 2011 edition is going to take place in different venues in Autonomous Cultural Center Metelkova mesto and in Zaklonišče (Bomb Shelter), a new venue located in Park slovenske reformacije (former Argentinski park) in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Instead of an intoduction, here are some quotes from the bilingual (Slovene-English) book of interviews with former and current organisers of Red Dawns who reflected on the festival’s contibution to the visibility of feminist and queer politics in Slovenia. The book is going to be released in April 2011 by association KUD Mreža which is also responsible for Red Dawns or, in Slovene, Rdeče zore: the best feminist-queer event in town! See you! After I started collaborating with Red Dawns, I felt even more dedicated because I had the opportunity to meet so many people who want to change the world. I am thankful for that. You could say that my feminism became more personal. Also, by bringing in the queer aspect, I saw that feminism goes beyond classic Second Wave themes such as domestic violence, equal pay, and so on. This is what I was focused on before, and with the introduction of a queer perspective, I saw that the specter can be widened. ––Jasmina Jerant The festival promotes a political, not an apolitical view of feminism. It is raising the level of discussion about feminism in Slovenia. For me, that’s the point of Red Dawns. My general feeling is that the understanding of feminism by alternative and mainstream people in Slovenia is extremely banal and one-sided. It’s all about representation. The media in Slovenia is at a horribly low level when it comes to any comments on feminist issues. For me, our festival is about defying the general view that in the alternative culture men and women are already equal. –Anna Erhrlemark Red Dawns fest is breaking new ground in Slovenia. And that is really important: that a relatively known festival is opening new themes in the public sphere. Our international collaboration is important for the same reason. You have to bring people from abroad if no one here has thought about a certain issue yet! In addition, the international view brings awareness about the global nature of problems we are dealing with, like the lack of social justice. ––Jasmina Jerant The festival is based on a contradiction. Feminism and queer are conflicting and wide concepts. And yet, our aim is to open questions about feminist subjects; not to embody, but to discuss them. As I said, the festival is here to raise the level of debate, to create conflicts! That might not be productive in the long run, but I see it as our role: to raise more conflicts both in the local scene and with our foreign guests. We always have conflicts about different concepts, and it’s quite obvious that queer doesn’t mean the same thing in Amsterdam or Belgrade. –Anna Erhrlemark