Let Them See Us
"Let Them See Us" (Polish: Niech nas zobaczą) was the first social-and-artistic campaign in Poland meant to oppose homophobia and discrimination because of sexual orientation.[1]. It was organized by Campaign Against Homophobia. The action took place in 2003, beginning on Saturday 22 March,[2] presenting 30 couples of gays and lesbians in photographs presented as billboard and galleries.[3] The author of the photos was Karolina Breguła.[4]
The campaign begun with opening an exhibition "Let Them See Us" in a Gallery of Society of Arts Friends "Pałacyk" (Galeria Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Sztuk Pięknych „Pałacyk"). Also, at the time, the billboard action was started in Warsaw, Kraków. Sosnowiec and Tricity. At first, an ad company AMS was to hand around 500 city lights, but they resigned at the last moment. AMS was thus changed into company Cityboard Media. Some posters were vandalized. After a short time, Cityboard Media also resigned.[citation needed]
The social action was meet with serious homophobic backlash.[5][6] For example, in Gdańsk, a local League of Polish Families branch (Liga Polskich Rodzin) protested against the exhibition, accusing it of "promoting deviants" and being made by "aggressive homosexuals".[7] Maciej Rybiński compared the people photographed to "koprofags, fethishists, zoophiles".[8] An exception to the backlash reaction to the exhibition was the one localized in Sosnowiec, unlike those established in bigger Polish cities.[9]
Besides Warsaw, the exhibition took place in:
- Kraków, in Galleria Burzym & Wolf,
- Gdańsk, in Galleria Łaźnia,
- Sosnowiec, in Galleria of Society "Cross Over",
- Lublin, in ACK UMCS "Chatka Żaka"[10]
In 2023, twenty years after the original campaign, the original photographer Karolina Breguła created a followup exhibition Families, with images of gay and lesbian couples with children. Unlike the original images, these were AI generated, as Breguła was concerned about the privacy and safety parents and children that she knew.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Niech nas zobaczą". kph.org. Kampania Przeciw Homofobii. 2008-10-24. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ "Niech Ich Zobaczą". wyborcza.pl. 2003-03-23. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
- ^ "Niech nas zobaczą". kph.org. Kampania Przeciw Homofobii. 2008-10-24. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ "Wystawy - CSWŁaźnia". www.laznia.pl. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
- ^ "Zobaczyli nas!". replika-online.pl. Replika. 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ "Niech nas zobaczą". wyborcza.pl. 2003-05-21. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
- ^ Łupak, Sebastian (2003-03-31). "Niech nie zobaczą". wyborcza.pl. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
- ^ "Wtedy nas zobaczyli". Queer.pl. 2010-03-15. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
- ^ "Niech nas zobaczą". wyborcza.pl. 2003-05-15. Retrieved 2005-01-11.
- ^ "Niech Nas Zobaczą – wystawa fotografii". ACK UMCS Chatka Żaka. Archived from the original on 2010-08-23. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
- ^ "Karolina Breguła Niech nas zobaczą, Rodziny pokaz dokumentacji projektu — TRAFO | TRAFOSTACJA SZTUKI". trafo.art (in Polish). Retrieved 2025-01-11.
External links
[edit]- "Official website of the campaign". niechnaszobacza.queers.pl. Archived from the original on 2012-05-08.
 | This Polish politics-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer topics is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |