Part of ProtoZone19: Ruptures \ Reliances, 23.05.2025-03.08.2025

08.06.25 – Activist Choreographies of Care

Workshop, performances, screening Home is Resistance and artist talk (detailed program coming soon)

Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi, also known as crazinisT artisT, is a Ghanaian artist, trans activist and director of perfocraZe International Artist Residency (pIAR) – the only openly queer-inclusive arts and culture residency in Ghana. pIAR is located in Kumasi, the second largest Ghanaian city, where Va-Bene lives and works.

June 8, 2025 at Shedhalle brings the collaborative spirit of pIAR to Zurich as a collective meeting place. During the day, Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi will lead a performance workshop together with Sunny Pfalzer. In the evening, the participants will present their performances, followed by a screening of Va-Bene’s film Home is Resistance and an artist talk.

The project promotes the exchange between Swiss artists and Ghanaian artists and at the same time draws attention to the situation of the LGBTQIA+ community in Ghana, which is currently threatened by a law that criminalizes homosexuality. The workshop, screening and artist talk create a framework for engaging with the structures of the residency, Ghana’s pre-colonial queer history and the impact of colonization on Ghanaian politics and society today.

The project is a collaboration with Sunny Pfalzer. Sunny Pfalzer is a performance artist and visiting professor at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, lives and works in Zurich. Sunny is an alumnus of pIAR and has been working on various projects with Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi (crazinisT artisT) since 2020.

Home is Resistance is a documentary about the perfocraZe International Artist Residency (pIAR for short). pIAR is much more than just a place for art: it is a ‘safer / braver space’ that offers both FLINTA* and young queer people in Ghana refuge and prospects for the future. The film guides viewers through the various rooms of pIAR and introduces the diverse community of residents. In personal interviews, both permanent and temporary members – including mentees, volunteers and artists – talk about their transformative experiences and perspectives at pIAR.