Queer history of Ukraine. A timeline

Queer history of Ukraine. A timeline

Started in 2022

text

In 2014, Carlos Alejandro Motta created his work "Brief History of Homosexual Repression in Ukraine" as part of the Future Generation Art Prize 2014 exhibition in Kyiv's PinchukArtCentre. In it, with the help of several Ukrainian LGBTQ+ activists, he documented important historical dates for the Ukrainian LGBTQ+ community. After the show, Motta did not revisit the chronology of Ukrainian queer history. I completed it by filling in the gaps and adding new dates.

Mota's work primarly draws on historical dates related to repression, resistance, and the birth of LGBTQ activism in Ukraine, while some dates related to queer culture were not mentioned. In addition, the original version of the timeline stopped at the events of 2014, while the Ukrainian queer scene began to develop dynamically after the events of the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. The revolution also gave impetus to new activist queer practices.

Timeline is updated every year. Check the latest update (February 2023) here.

Installation shot from Catalyst Arts, Belfast, Nothern Ireland:

Installation shot from Foam Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands:

Installation shot from BWA Studio, Wroclaw, Poland:

Installation shots from Kauno menininkų namai, Kaunas, Lithuania:

Shown at:
Foam Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Kauno menininkų namai, Kaunas, Lithuania
BWA Gallery, Wroclaw, Poland

Catalyst Arts, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Unity Theater, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Published in:
A Very Brief and Subjective Queer History of Ukraine
DIK Fagazine #13

Anton Shebetko

Anton
Shebetko