TUPILAK & ILGCN 5th NORDIC RAINBOW MONTH
Stockholm -- The 5th Nordic Rainbow History & Culture Month - October, 2020 started at the Hanninge Culture House in a suburb of the Swedish capital with Swedish performer, Louise Blad exhibition of pioneering UK lesbian Jackie Forster, followed by the Heartfest LGBT Film Festival in Estonia, in Rakvere and Tartu. (cont. on page 3)
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ILGCN “Wings” to Melinka Film Festival – Serbia
Belgrade – The ILGCN award for LGBT film production and distribution has gone to the Serbian Melinka International Queer Film Festival – named after a murdered Serbian trans activist – and its festival director, Predrag Azdejkovic.
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ILGCN AWARD to Norwegian Archive
Bergen -- The "Sappho in Paradise 2020" Award -- from the ILGCN (international rainbow culture network) and the Paradise Press-London -- has been handed over the to the University of Bergen's Skeivt[p1] Arkiv (The Norwegian Queer Archive) in this Norwegian city for collecting rainbow historical information, publications and items in Norway, elsewhere in the Nordic region and beyond. (Continued on page 2)
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BRITISH-SWEDISH ZOOM ON QUEER HISTORY IN HOLOCAUST,
"ORFEO IRIS 2020" AWARD to Czech Researcher
Stockholm -- Representatives of Tupilak (Nordic rainbow culture workers) and the ILGCN (international rainbow culture network) Information Secretariat-Stockholm joined with Dr. Anna Hájková, Czech/UK from her home in England with a Zoom connection, presenting some of her research into "Queer History in the Holocaust" -- describing the challenges and the difficulties in finding materials and working in areas not always supported by universities and other institutions. (continued on page 2)
ILGCN AWARD to Norwegian Archive….
(continued from page 1) Presenting the diploma to members of the archive staff and reading the motivation, John Earhart, head of the Norwegian Bamse Bear organization and long-time ally of the ILGCN, he said the award honors the archive " for understanding that without the painstaking archiving efforts of today, many of the accomplishments and the pioneers of today and yesterday may soon be forgotten."
" .......and for confirming that the past is never only the past, but is a bridge to the peoples and happenings of today and the events and peoples of tomorrow."
Academic director Hanna Gillow-Kloster said "On behalf of the entire team at Skeivt arkiv, we are of course thrilled and proud to accept this award. We thank the ILGCN and Paradise Press for the consideration, it is always very nice to be recognized for our work in the LGBT culture sector. This award is the first time anyone is giving us a salute for the work we are doing here!"
Paradise Press Donation to the Sapho Award
The award is named after the ancient Greek poetess, Sappho and the LGBT-run Paradise Press in London -- publishing novels, biographies, short stories and poetry by lesbians and gays.
The ILGCN awards include no monetary contribution but are given with golden appreciation for work well done. However the "Sappho" includes a literary donation from the publications by Paradise Press and this time includes Central African-born, UK resident, Elsa Wallace's collection of short stories, "Kissy face and Others."
The award has over the years honored authors, publishers, libraries and archives collecting, preserving and displaying crucial information of the rainbow rights struggle and culture. The 2020 award diploma contains an image of a painting of Sappho and the Greek poetess, Erinna by Simeon Solomon, UK, 1864.
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TUPILAK & ILGCN NORDIC RAINBOW MONTH…
(continued from page 1) At Stockholm meetings filled with presentations, poetry, film screenings and art work from Tupilak's (Nordic rainbow culture workers) and ILGCN's (international rainbow culture network) 70-nation rainbow art and photography exhibition, a number of Tupilak and ILGCN awards were presented.
ILGCN's "Arco Nordica" (the blue rainbow) awards for 2020 were handed out to Petter Wallenberg and Vincent Ferrigan and his Sidetrack bar staff for starting and helping fund the first LGBT Rainbow Riot community center in Kampala, Uganda. The ceremony took place at Sidetrack bar.
Tupilak's awards for men "Thor's Hammer" were handed out to Swedish poet/performer/artist Leif Holmstrand, Sweden's Peter Rothfor songs/lectures on HIV, addiction life and death, Jan Göransson of the Swedish Film Institute for supporting LGBT films, film screenings and film makers.
Tupilak's Sowelu award winners for women cultural workers, Kaisa Färlin and Moa Lingnell, Swedish singers and Catarina Harline, Swedish photographer, are to receive their awards later on.
One of the most impressive presentations by Ida Måwe of Ottar, publication of RFSU -- internationally pioneering Swedish organization promoting sexual education and often focusing on LGBT questions.
Other remarkable presentations came with Sweden's Christine Zawall playing the piano and journalist Kirsti Kajanne of Finland, singing the text of Finnish writer, Tove Jansson. Swedish artist Kennet Lindquist provided live painting actions at several events during the Month.
Solidarity salutes to Polish, Belarus Colleagues
Also discussed future Polish-Swedish LGBT co-operation and exchange hopefully with support from the Polish Institute in Stockholm, and Belarus-Swedish exchange -- hopefully with support from the Swedish Institute.
One meeting during the month took place at the Stockholm City Hall with Tupilak graphic artists and Torun Boucher, (Left Party), vice chair of Stockholm Cultural Council about her highly praised plans to paint the thousands of dull grey, electricity boxes in the city.
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ILGCN “Orfeo Imago” to USA, Germany, UK-New Zealand
Awards to Sarah Jane Moon of UK-New Zealand, Victor Adeniran – USA, Patrick Mc Donald-Germany. Diplomas to be sent or handed out later when travel permits.
ILGCN AWARD to Norwegian Archive….
(continued from page 1) Presenting the diploma to members of the archive staff and reading the motivation, John Earhart, head of the Norwegian Bamse Bear organization and long-time ally of the ILGCN, he said the award honors the archive " for understanding that without the painstaking archiving efforts of today, many of the accomplishments and the pioneers of today and yesterday may soon be forgotten."
" .......and for confirming that the past is never only the past, but is a bridge to the peoples and happenings of today and the events and peoples of tomorrow."
Academic director Hanna Gillow-Kloster said "On behalf of the entire team at Skeivt Arkiv, we are of course thrilled and proud to accept this award. We thank the ILGCN and Paradise Press for the consideration, it is always very nice to be recognized for our work in the LGBT culture sector. This award is the first time anyone is giving us a salute for the work we are doing here!"
Paradise Press Donation to the Sapho Award
The award is named after the ancient Greek poetess, Sappho and the LGBT-run Paradise Press in London -- publishing novels, biographies, short stories and LGBT poetry. The ILGCN awards include no monetary contribution but are given with golden appreciation for work well done. However the "Sappho" includes a literary donation from the publications by Paradise Press and this time includes Central African-born, UK resident, Elsa Wallace'scollection of short stories, "Kissy face and Others."
The award has over the years honored authors, publishers, libraries and archives collecting, preserving and displaying crucial information of the rainbow rights struggle and culture. The 2020 award diploma contains an image of a painting of Sappho and the Greek poetess, Erinna by Simeon Solomon, UK, 1864.
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"ORFEO IRIS 2020"AWARD -- Czech Researcher…
(continued from page 1) The September 15, 2020 event also included the award to Dr. Hájková of the ILGCN's "Orfeo Iris 2020" award honoring "outstanding contributions to research on LGBT people in Nazi and neo Nazi times."
The motivation reads: "for the crucial, often ignored research -- also with books and numberous articles -- on the fate of LGBT people in the Nazi death camps." The award is named after "iris" -- the rainbow, and the ancient Greek musician, Orpheus, whose powerful music could calm elven the demons of the underworld and who was proud of his male lovers, including Calais -- a fellow sailor on the Argos.
Earlier Orfeo Iris Winners include the U.S. Holocaust Museum which had a gay researcher stationed in Europe to carry out work on homosexuals in the Holocaust, the Malmö City Museum in southern Sweden -- for arranging an exhibition on neo Nazi attacks and murders of homosexuals and immigrants, a controversial German ex-priest and author - revealing discrimination of LGBT people in the Catholic Church, German and Austrian university students carrying out research on homophobic atrocities by the Nazis – and the Museum of Auschwitz in Poland -- for including homosexuals in the list of those imprisoned and murdered there -- unlike many other museums and exhibits.