Together with the multidisciplinary creative duo antonia & Alex Sihelsk꙳ and performer Kasha Potrohosh, we will explore queerness and the emancipation of magical creatures, or so-called “monsters.” In a shared dialogue, Alex and antonia will talk about the community and educational aspects of so-called role-playing games, and through various examples of their own work, they will show how they address environmental and gender issues in relation to fiction and mythology. The evening will also feature a continuous performance by artist Kasha Potrohosh, who develops the story of a woman who, after losing her social status defined by patriarchal norms and the notion of “pure” femininity, remains on the margins of society. The evening will conclude with an open discussion and a screening of Alex Sihelsk꙳’s latest film, Zveromedze (2025).
👀 BIO:
🌱 anto_nie is an artist and facilitator rooted in activist environments. In her work, she explores various approaches to what can be considered an act of care; she facilitates workshops based on the practice of Adrienne Maree Brown, focusing on collective resilience and herbalism. She also works with 3D, game engines, immersive sound, and other ways of creating community-oriented non-physical spaces.
🪄 Kasha Potrohosh – a Ukrainian artist currently based in Bratislava and Ostrava. She explores local folklore and ritual practices through the lens of gender studies and uses magic as a tool for deconstructing the binary systems of patriarchy and capitalism. Through her works, she challenges rigid constructs of gender roles and stereotypes with the ambition of social therapy and broader societal reflection, including feminist and environmental discourse. In her interactions with the audience, she promotes empathy and understanding, introduces moments of sharp critique of violence and oppression, and weaves narratives that question the status quo and encourage social transformation.
🧙 Alex Sihelsk꙳
Alex (1999, Slovakia) is a multidisciplinary artist engaged with contemporary and traditional witchcraft, viewing it as an effort to reclaim expropriated knowledge and recontextualize it through queer perspectives. Under the framework of queer ecologies, Alex explores mythological narratives, the rediscovery and acceptance of monstrosity, relationships with the landscape and its inhabitants, as well as questions of identity. They are also researching visions of solarpunk futures while learning skills such as gardening and herding.
🌸 Programme:
18:00 – 18:45 Performance by artist Kasha Potrohosh
19:00 – 20:30 Artist talk with the duo anto_nie & Alex Sihelsk*
20:45 – 21:15 Joint discussion with the guests
21:30 – 22:20 Screening of the film Zveromedze
Zveromedze
At the dawn of a new era, a few years after the Great Green Revolution, animals return to their natural life in the landscape, while the remaining human population fully devotes itself to its regeneration. Across fragrant, buzzing meadows, a shepherdess runs with her herd — a herald of the returning supernatural. The art video draws from the tradition of pastoral tales, in which the shepherd is understood as a liminal being inhabiting the threshold between the human, the non-human, and the superhuman worlds, and thus becomes a witness to higher messages and forthcoming transformations. The story builds on an assemblage of Slavic folklore mythology, solarpunk visions, and queer monstrosity.
The video was created with the support of the Slovak Arts Council (FPU).
The program is curated by Jana Mikuš Hanzelová and Amálie Bulandrová as part of the year-long series Collective Dreaming Club, dedicated to various approaches to fiction and fantasy as strategies of anticipatory imagination.
Once a month, on a Wednesday, the Club of Councillors will be transformed into a clubhouse of collective dreaming, where art, activism, and academia coexist and create new imaginative connections. Throughout 2025, public gatherings will take place here, all linked by the shared practice of imagining more-than-real forms of the contemporary world. The program of each event is prepared in dialogue with invited guests, who personally guide participants through a form of collective dreaming emerging from their artistic or research practice.