On May 13, 2025, as Brussels begins to hum with Pride energy, a quieter, deeper kind of gathering unfolds at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (ArBA-EsA). In room M307, Spanish queer feminist activist and scholar Fefa Vila joins Brussels-based artist and educator Castillo for a conversation titled Chance — a public dialogue exploring how we transmit our histories, question power, and embrace what doesn’t fit.
“I want to tell you about a political experience that claims ‘chance’ against the norm,” Vila begins, rejecting the structures that define academia, activism, even queer identity. A founding force of the radical lesbian collective LSD in 1990s Madrid, Vila’s work defies containment. For her, queerness is not only a lived experience but also a methodology — unruly, opaque, and necessary.
Castillo, whose artistic and pedagogical work in Brussels engages with queer health, collective memory, and experimental forms, expands on this with equal nuance. Together, they probe the space between archives and “anarchives” — the messier, forgotten, unrecorded narratives that still shape our lives. Their conversation is not about preserving history but about unearthing it, destabilizing it, and reimagining it.
“How can we (un)govern what isn’t governable?” Vila asks — a question that lingers. As LGBTQIA+ communities move forward, they remind us that not all stories need linearity, or legibility, to be powerful.
In the lead-up to Brussels Pride and IDAHOTB (International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia), this encounter is a powerful counterpoint to the more visible expressions of queer celebration. It’s a call to listen, reflect, and embrace the unknown.
Because sometimes the most radical act is not to define, but to question.
Date: Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Time: 17:30 – 20:00
Location: Royal Academy of Fine Arts (ArBA-EsA), Room M307
Rue du Midi 144, 1000 Brussels
You may also like
-
Jardin Musical: A Fair‑Trade Music Ecosystem Rooted in Brussels
Imagine a listening room where acoustic music feels close enough to touch, and where every
-
Rainbow Cities Network: When Local Governments Decide Queer Lives Deserve Actual Policy
We talk a lot about “queer‑friendly cities”, but what happens when municipal governments decide to
-
Pride Bus Tour: From Wallonia and Brussels to Amsterdam Pride, With the Party Already on Board
Not everyone starts Amsterdam Pride on a canal boat or in a club — some
-
Barbara Butch: Choosing Love Is Not Naive, It’s Resistance
When a DJ set has to be stopped because a queer, fat, Jewish woman dared
-
After Hours: One Dancefloor, Six Hours of Moonlight, Sweat and Desire
When most of Brussels is closing the tabs and heading home, After Hours is just