Issue 21 – In Conversation with .. 10!

“We’re not collecting money to kill people; we’re
collecting money to support our friends at the frontline
who are protecting and fighting for us,” he explained.
Besides donations, collaboration plays a vital role for
Veselka.
Their upcoming Berlin showcase at RSO on 17 May
is a collaboration between the collective Dissident.
“Collaborations like this are a good way of
communicating with other communities and creating
something new,” said Stas. Veselka and Dissident invite
to embark on a journey “where shadows dance and
laces shimmer with perspiration—an introduction to
a dystopian adventure”. Half – if not more – of the
community has left, he added. Inevitably, this means
the scene in Kyiv has changed, but it’s also opened
doors for newcomers and new collectives, said Stas.
“It’s not getting worse, it’s just changing.”
Since the full-scale invasion, partying has a new
meaning. People go to clubs to forget about reality for
a couple of hours; servicemen go dancing on their days
off to clear their minds. “I remember in the first month of
the war, I couldn’t listen to music at all,” said Stas,
“I moved to western Ukraine, and we organised our first
charity event there. A lot of people came; everybody
was smiling, thinking about different things and not
about the war. For me, it was something different; when
I start playing, these two hours disappeared.”
Veselka – which translates to “rainbow” – filled
a void for liberated expression, galvanising Kyiv's
queer community and redefining the city's club
culture.
Follow @veslka_kyiv to keep up with upcoming
showcases. Tickets for the event at RSO on
17 May can be purchased here.
Text by Johanna Urbančik
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