On December 10, three artists from Belarus and Ukraine re-enacted life, harassment and violence in a prison cell in Belarus in the center of Berlin.
In their public theater performance on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, the artists reflected their experience and that of many other Belarusians during their imprisonment. At the same time, the artists drew public attention to their home country, and showed how a future without authoritarian and patriarchal practices could look there.
More than two years after the violent crackdown of the peaceful protests against the rigged presidential elections, the Belarusian regime brutally has muzzled all critical voices. Belarusian and international human rights activists now count nearly 1,500 long-term political prisoners in Belarus. Among them are Ales Bialiatski and Maria Kalesnikava, prominent figures of the democracy movement, as well as students, workers, journalists, doctors, activists and artists. In short: a cross-section of Belarusian society.
End of the “School of Creative Solidarity”
The performance on Potsdam Square in central Berlin marked the conclusion of the German-Belarusian-Ukrainian dialogue and art project “School of Creative Solidarity” by Libereco and Cultural Geographies.
The project was funded by the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ Foundation) and the German Federal Foreign Office as part of the program “MEET UP! Youth for Partnership”.
