Džipsii, Bojana Vunturišević, Luka Rajić – Regional Music Stars at the Kvirhana Festival in Sarajevo

The third edition of the queer (LGBTIQ) art festival Kvirhana will be held at the Historical Museum in Sarajevo from June 16th to 18th, organized by the Sarajevo Open Center. The official opening of the festival will take place on Friday at 7 p.m., featuring the exhibition ‘Weight of Society’ by artist Iman della Luna Glušac, followed by a musical program featuring performances by Bojana Vunturišević, Luka Rajić, and Dolores.

The theme of this year’s Kvirhana is gender in the broadest sense. The festival slogan, “Rod da prostiš” is a wordplay combining a line from Mak Dizdar’s poetry, “Bosna da prostiš” (Bosnia, forgive me), with the concepts of gender and queer. The slogan carries a broader meaning that relates to the acceptance and expression of diverse gender identities and the questioning of traditional gender norms and stereotypes. “Rod da prostiš” suggests that society should move away from rigid gender categories and be more open to diversity.

The daytime program of the second day of the festival will focus on discussions about various topics relevant to LGBTIQ activism and art. Through the Queer Talks segment, inspired by the globally renowned TED Talks format, eight individuals from Bosnia and the region will speak about subjects such as gender-neutral language, masculinity and femininity, the relationship between fashion and gender, and trans history. In the evening program, there will be a performance by Džipsii, a young artist who gained prominence in the recent competition for Serbia’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to watch a runway show by the modern fashion movement Impact, which concept is grounded in sustainable fashion. For this year, four young drag artists from Bosnia have prepared a drag show that is not to be missed.

On Sunday, the final day of the festival, there will be two workshops, a living library, a discussion with the organizers of the Bosnian Pride March and the “Zagrljaj” group of parents and LGBTIQ children, as well as an acoustic music performance.

The festival will also take place in Tuzla on July 1st and 2nd. Entrance to the festival is free.