Queer Culture Against Disinformation in the Eastern Partnership Countries
Art Project Lab 2025–2026
Application deadline: August 24, 2025
Up to €5,000 in funding and expert support
Against the backdrop of political instability in the Eastern Partnership countries, LGBTQ+ communities are increasingly becoming targets of media manipulation and hostile rhetoric. At the same time, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova have in recent years become new homes for many queer people from Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia — people seeking safety and freedom. Our response to the use of LGBTQ+ issues to divide societies is cultural resistance — built on mutual support and shared knowledge.
We are launching a Lab to bring together artists, content creators, researchers, curators, and other cultural professionals whose creative work breaks stereotypes and helps build common ground to counter disinformation.
About the Lab
A professional group of eight queer cultural practitioners will be selected through an open call. We invite artists living in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Germany, as well as people who have relocated to these countries from Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.
Over the course of a year, participants will share experiences, support each other, develop joint strategies against propaganda and fake news, and create new artistic works to confront queer-related disinformation in their countries.
The program includes regular online sessions, an in-person meeting in one of the countries of the region, mentoring by experts, and up to €5,000 in funding per project.
The Lab will culminate in a Cultural Festival in Berlin in November 2026, where the works created will be publicly presented.
The project is implemented by Quarteera e.V., with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office through the programme “Expanding Cooperation with Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership Countries and Russia”.
Who We Are Looking For
- Experienced queer cultural practitioners
- working at the intersection of art, activism, and social transformation,
- currently residing in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, or Germany.
What Kind of Projects Can Be Funded?
Artistic or documentary/informational works in audiovisual or visual formats – such as film, animation, podcasts, street art, illustration. We welcome experimentation and new formats.
Our audience includes people in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, who are exposed daily to large amounts of disinformation and propaganda. Another key target group is the Russian-speaking population in Germany.
It is important that your final project is understandable and accessible to a wide audience, easy to distribute, and suitable for use in educational and awareness-raising initiatives.
Only new projects developed within the framework of the Lab are eligible for support.
What We Offer
- Up to €5,000 in funding for your artistic project.
- Participation in a 3-day in-person cultural exchange in one of the countries of the region in October 2025
- Mentorship from October 2025 to October 2026
- Regular online workshops to support your creative and professional growth
- Support with public outreach and dissemination of your project through the end of 2026
- Participation in the Quarteera Cultural Festival in Berlin in November 2026
- Opportunities to present your work in other countries
- Connections and collaborations with other artists and cultural workers from the Eastern Partnership countries and Germany
How Participants Are Selected
An international jury composed of experts and human rights activists — including the Side by Side International LGBT Film Festival “Bok o Bok“, Moldova’s oldest LGBTQ+ NGO GENDERDOC-M, the interdisciplinary German art collective PANDA platforma, and the human rights organization Quarteera e.V. — will select eight finalists.
What We Expect from You
- Experience working with audiovisual or visual arts.
- Active engagement with issues related to social change and human rights.
- Experience managing cultural projects (e.g. team coordination, budgeting, reporting) – or willingness and motivation to learn this with us.
- Solid working knowledge of Russian or German, the Lab’s working languages.
- Openness to participating in online and in-person sessions.
- Commitment to attend the three-day in-person meeting in one of the countries in the region.
- Interest in working with an international team to present your project to a broad audience — both at home and abroad.
At the end of the Lab, you will be expected to produce a new artistic work, which must be presented publicly, at least in your country of residence.
Lab Timeline
July 21 – August 24, 2025 Application period
By September 5, 2025 Notification of shortlisted finalists
September 8–14, 2025 Interviews with finalists
By September 21, 2025 Announcement of participants and notification to all applicants
September 24–26, 2025 Online group introduction
October 2025 In-person international meeting in one of the Eastern Partnership countries
October 2025 – October 2026 Project implementation
November 2025 – April 2026 Online workshops
November 2026 Cultural Festival in Berlin
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
Submitting an Application
Queer artists from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Germany, as well as those who have migrated to these countries from Ukraine, Belarus, or Russia, are eligible to apply.
Applications are accepted in Russian or German only. To ensure fair and timely evaluation by the jury, we must limit applications to the project’s working languages.
Not necessarily. Your interest in the topic and relevant experience in similar artistic projects are enough. We will develop and refine project ideas together during the Lab, particularly at the in-person meeting.
Application Results
All applicants will be notified by email once the jury has made its decision — no later than September 21, 2025. If you haven’t heard from us by then, please email us at: queerekultur@quarteera.de
Yes, all applicants will receive a reply. Please note, however, that the jury’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.
Participating in the Lab and Realizing Your Project
The work can be carried out in the language of the country in which you live or in Russian.
Before the Lab begins, we will sign an agreement with each participant outlining the mutual obligations. Quarteera cannot pay fees for unfinished work. Funds for incomplete projects will need to be returned.
We want your project to live on and reach as many people as possible. If you have further plans for promotion or presentation — even better! We are happy to work with you to develop a distribution strategy. Your work can be featured at Quarteera events and used in educational or awareness-raising contexts. The Lab also offers opportunities for international presentations.
The artist grants Quarteera e.V. non-exclusive rights to use the work created during the Lab. This means both you and Quarteera can present and distribute the work independently. Please note: due to the nature of the grant, we cannot delay public presentation of the works (e.g., for festival premieres). Public outreach is a core element of the Lab.
- Fees for your work and for your team.
- Production of printed materials (flyers, posters, etc.).
- Materials and supplies needed for the project (props, equipment rental, etc.).
- Venue or stage rental for events or presentations.
- Purchase of necessary software.
- Travel and accommodation expenses.
- Project promotion costs.
If you have any questions, please contact us via queerekultur@quarteera.de
Quarteera condemns the Russian war against Ukraine and all forms of aggression and discrimination.
Their decision is final and indisputable.
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