tin art – activism – rights – Presentations & Discussion

In this roundtable the international tin artists Carter Wolf, Living Smiley Vidya and Faris Cuchi present their approaches to activism, performance, music and storytelling. A discussion about the connections between art and activism,  tin identities and communities in migration and connections to different fights in legal proceedings and asylum rights.  

tin art – activism – rights – Presentations & Discussion

A free event for everyone as part of the exhibition 

‘4T – The Trans Body Rights Ar/ctivist Archive’

Sat 26.10.2024, 15:00-17:00 (!), QUEER MUSEUM VIENNA

Otto Wagner Areal, former ‘Direktion’, staircase 2,

Baumgartner Höhe 1, 1140 Vienna

Presentations & Discussion

with Hirwa Carter Honoree Wolf, Living Smiley Vidya, Faris Cuchi Gezahegn (Moderation: Gin Müller)

In this roundtable the international tin artists Carter Wolf, Living Smiley Vidya and Faris Cuchi present their approaches to activism, performance, music and storytelling. It is a discussion about the connections between art and activism, tin identities and communities in migration and ties to different fights in legal proceedings and asylum rights.  

The artists and activists can also be seen in the “tin 4 Quilt Archive” in the ongoing exhibition „4T – The Trans Body Rights Ar/ctivist Archive”.

Hirwa Carter Wolf is a black trans man, so BLACK and gay and a manwhore soft dom switch originally from Rwanda, now a refugee living in Belgium. He is the founder and former Executive Director of Rwanda Gender Pride,the first trans and gender non binary organisation located in Rwanda. He organised the first Rwandan Trans Educational Convening in Kigali-Rwanda, a convening that brought together for the first time, exclusively trans and gender non binary persons living in Rwanda for a one on one with different Rwandan government representatives, international governments representatives, NGOs  and different health care takers working in Rwanda. He is an artist who works on the topics of having been raised as a BLACK woman and now living proudly as a BLACK trans man, family, chosen family. In his artistic and activist practices he focuses on basic mind and body awareness, bonding and storytelling from an anti-colonial perspective. He aims to engage with participatory strategies of engaging with new audiences.

Hirwa Carter Honoree Wolf – photo by Noah Safranek

Living Smile Vidya Actor, Author and Veteran Indian Trans-Activist. She was the first trans woman to have her name and gender legally changed in India. In 2014, she received a scholarship to study at the International School of Performing Arts in London and then founded India’s first trans theater collective Panmai Theatre in Chennai. Since 2018, Living Smile Vidya has been living in Luzern after fleeing to Switzerland due to threats on her life because of her political activities. She won Swiss theater prize 2023 for her play “Introducing Living Smile Vidya”.

Living Smile Vidya – photo by Living Smile Vidya

Faris Cuchi Gezahegn (they/them/she/her) is an intersectional LGBTQIA* advocate/activist, a performance artist, PCCC (Politically Correct Comedy Club) standup comedian, self-archivist, Ethiopian Queer knowledge and culture producer, and poet. They use different mediums such as style activism, writing, performance, and video/audio installations to bring social change and start a conversation that catalyzes change on issues they face while navigating day-to-day life as femme non-binary Ethiopian/African LGBTQIA* advocate with experience of asylum-seeking and refugee in Austria and Ethiopia. They are co-founder, co-director and counter-narrative leader at the House of Guramayle. House of Guramayle is a collaborative intersectional platform created by socially and politically marginalized Ethiopian activists worldwide.

Faris Cuchi Gezahegn – photo by Bahiru Shewaye

Gin Mueller (Dr.phil.) lives mostly in Vienna. Gin works as a dramaturg, artistic researcher, activist/performer, and lecturer at the University of Vienna. From 2017 – 2019 he was Visiting Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna (department: Contextual Painting and Queer Arts). Since 2007 Gin Mueller teaches at  the University of Vienna (department of Theatre Film and Media Studies), from 2015-17 at the University of Music and Performing Arts (department: Institute of Cultural Management), besides producing and directing independent theatre and performance projects and focusing on artistic research and socio-political engagements with projects like Schandwache (since 2020), Queer Base (Welcome and Support for LGBT-Refugees, since 2015), involvement in Vienna´s refugee protest (2012), TransX/-Rosa Lila Villa (2009-14).

photo by ChristineMiess

Language: English

Free entrance


This event is supported by: