QUEER ART IN THE GDR? Together. Lesbian Artists in the GDR
Talk with Birgit Bosold, Judith Geffert and Nina Weller
In the GDR, there were extremely active and vibrant networks of lesbian-feminist artists. What spaces were they able to create for themselves, and which were denied them? Birgit Bosold and Judith Geffert speak with Nina Weller about artistic practices, collective strategies and forms of self-empowerment among lesbian artists in the GDR.
Birgit Bosold has since 2006 been a member of the board of Schwules Museum in Berlin (SMU). Over the last 20 years, with her focus on strategy, programming, finances, and curation she has contributed decisively to the SMU’s dynamic development and has (co-)curated countless exhibitions. These have included Lesbisches Sehen (Lesbian Seeing, 2018), and most recently the tripartite exhibition series Lesbian Legacies at Kunstraum Scherben Berlin. Since 2021 she has also been a member of the board of Stiftung Schwules Museum, which is dedicated to supporting queer art and culture.
Judith Geffert is a freelance radio writer. She studied literature and theatre studies, as well as the culture and history of Central and Eastern Europe, in Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder). She produces radio plays, features and podcasts on topics including lesbian-feminist networks in the GDR. She co-curated the exhibition Gemeinsam sind wir unerträglich. Die unabhängige Frauenbewegung in der DDR. Her radio play Kontaktanzeigen. Queere Generationendialoge in Ostdeutschland was first broadcast on Deutschlandradio in 2024
Nina Weller is a specialist in Slavic studies and literary studies. At the Leibniz Centre for Literary and Cultural Research (ZfL), she conducts research into popular culture, cultures of remembrance and documentary literature in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. She also works as a literary educator and translator.
The event is a cooperation with Leibniz-Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung (ZfL).