How BIPOC queer activists are using artivism as resistance

Art has always been a powerful tool of resistance, allowing the oppressed to share their truths and experiences. For many Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour (BIPOC¹) LGBTI activists, it is more than expression—it’s a survival tool, a way to build community, a political statement, and a means to reclaim joy.

With this new blog series, we’re sharing insights from the work of LGBTI organisations tackling injustice, racism, and the unique challenges faced by racialised LGBTI communities in Europe. We hope their stories and practices will inspire and resonate. We believe that solutions and approaches that include a few will pave the way and point to the solutions for many. You can read the previous blog in the series here.

Across Europe, LGBTI collectives are harnessing film, music, poetry, and performance to tell their stories, connect with others, and challenge dominant narratives. In today’s blog, we explore how four different racialised queer groups use art in their activism.

Wassla Ciné Queer: Film as a lifeline

For Wassla, a queer cultural organisation based in Paris that works with migrants, film is more than entertainment – it is a lifeline. Their initiative, Ciné Queer, curates short and feature-length movies directed by Arab filmmakers that explore LGBTQIA+ experiences in Arabic-speaking communities. More than just screenings, these events spark critical conversations. Often followed by discussions with directors, the gatherings create a space where people can process what they see on screen, debate social issues, and reflect on their own realities.

At Wassla, there is no distinction between volunteers and participants; everyone plays a role in shaping the community. Many of their screenings feature works by their own members, amplifying voices that might otherwise remain unheard. With audiences sometimes reaching 80 people or more, Ciné Queer combats isolation and fosters solidarity in a safe and empowering space. For Wassla, film is not just about representation, it is about connection, healing, and breaking the silence.

Sadiqa and LIMBO queer exilic narratives: Music as a battle cry

“I am a reality, not an illusion.” These words, from Sadiqa’s song The Voice of the Queer, embody the defiant spirit of many BIPOC queer artists who refuse to be erased. Sadiqa was part of Art for Change, an initiative that examined art as a tool for solidarity and engaged scholarship. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Art for Change brought together queer refugee artists, offering a space to create and share music, poetry, film, and design.

That work continues through LIMBO queer exilic narratives, a platform for queer refugees in the Netherlands to tell their stories through art, to challenge the laws and structures that criminalise their existence, and to carve out spaces of belonging. Sadiqa’s music does not ask for permission; it demands recognition. Their lyrics are a protest against laws such as Article 489 of the moroccan law, which criminalises the sexuality of queer people, and a call out to all systems of oppression that seek to control and suppress marginalised communities:

Rainbow Mind UK: Art as radical self-care

For Rainbow Mind UK, creativity is a crucial part of their radical self-care approach. Working with LGBTI people of colour and refugee communities in the UK, they realised that traditional self-care practices often required participants to re-live painful experiences. Instead, they turned to art and music as a means of engagement, connection, and healing.

One of their most popular practices is the Queer Pencil Disco, where participants use drawing as a form of self-expression, and another involves recalling empowering song lyrics when words are hard to find. For a group of LGBTQ+ refugees, ‘Flowers’ by Miley Cyrus became an anthem of resilience. These practices offer creative expression and make self-care accessible and joyful. Rainbow Mind UK uses art to help people take control of their stories without re-experiencing trauma.

Break Isolation Group: Slam poetry as protest

For Break Isolation Group, spoken word and slam poetry are forms of protest, catharsis, and survival. Many members are queer racialised asylum seekers and refugees who face state repression, deportation threats, and systemic silencing in Germany.

Ann and Rose from Break Isolation Group explain that poetry provides them with a platform to express anger, tell their stories, and build community when traditional political spaces are closed to them.

“We are not able to speak openly in many spaces anymore,” Ann explains. “So now, we turn to slam poetry. Art allows us to purge, to bring experiences to life in a way that just talking about them doesn’t.”

For Break Isolation Group, redefining what counts as ‘art’ is part of their activism. Rose points out that in many BIPOC cultures, storytelling has always been woven into song and dance, but Western frameworks often fail to recognise these as legitimate art forms. “Our ancestors sent messages through music; this is nothing new.” Through their work, Break Isolation Group challenges Eurocentric definitions of art and reclaims creative expression on their own terms.

New funding

ILGA-Europe continues its commitment to providing funds and support for this part of LGBTI movement that addresses intersectional impacts of injustice, racialisation, racism and supremacy. On 30 January 2025, we launched a new call for proposals to support European groups working for and with racialised LGBTI communities. This is the third cycle of this programme. Apply by 30 March 2025, 23.59 CET.

1.  BIPOC is one of many abbreviations that our partner organisations use to self-identify the racialised communities they belong to. We use it here while acknowledging that there are other terms that might be more apt in different contexts by various groups, such as BAME (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic), BAPOC (Black, Asian and People of Colour), LGBTQI+ individuals of African descent, Arab queers from SWANA region (Southwest Asian and North African region) to name a few that are used by organisations we work with. ↩︎