{"id":45187,"date":"2022-10-11T17:31:58","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T16:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ket.brussels\/?p=45187"},"modified":"2023-03-04T12:44:29","modified_gmt":"2023-03-04T11:44:29","slug":"belligerency-invites-you-all-to-take-part-in-the-propaganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ket.brussels\/en\/2022\/10\/11\/belligerency-invites-you-all-to-take-part-in-the-propaganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Belligerency invites you all to take part in the Propaganda\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The name means \u201cstate of war\u201d, that says a lot on Belligerency<\/a>\u2019s art and work. Putting different ethnic backgrounds in the spotlight rather than the one we are used to see in Western Europe is the idea. Dragshows, podcasts, plays, radio shows and collectives are the media used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s discuss it with Sergejs aka Belligerency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell us a bit about yourself. What has been your journey?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My name is Sergejs Mikaeljans, and my stage name is Belligerency. I am a drag artist, dancer, performer, and artistic coordinator. Belligerency means \u201cthe state of war\u201d and it represents quite well my drag and overall inspiration when I perform. Belligerency is the ultimate, the most intense version of Sergejs. My drag allows me to defy the confines of the physical body and shapeshift, transform, and express my femininity and my masculinity in a physical, undeniable, visible way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am the President of the Collectif Les Bastards<\/a>, a non-profit serving the queer community in Belgium, co-founder and main co-organiser of the drag & queer show Propaganda<\/a>, the co-host of the Queer Mongering podcast and a queer activist. During the daytime, you might sometimes spot me strolling around the Brussels European Quarter doing some boring but useful Eurocrat work. I did not get two master\u2019s degrees for nothing, after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ethnically I am quite a mix. I am part Latvian part Armenian and come from a family of people who never stayed in the place they were born in. I have always felt the clash of cultures in my heart, as Latvian and Armenian ways of being are quite polar. I found beauty in this paradoxical difference between my two ethnicities when I matured, but as a young kid, I experienced difficulties navigating through the calmness, serenity, and determination of my Latvian side and the fiery nature of my “Armenianness\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being Armenian and queer is not the easiest task. Being Armenian and a queer performer whose work is on display and available at the click of a mouse is even more challenging. I stopped counting the death threats I received online for being a drag queen who has a 50% of Armenian DNA in their blood. Those threats would even come from the members of my own family. On top of that, being an Armenian who does not live in Armenia makes you a target for xenophobes and racists. So many times, my Latvian compatriots would question my Caucasian (from the Caucasus) features, and dark hair. Some would call me slurs. That is why I was quite prepared to experience this feeble balmy xenophobia that is common in Belgium. Here I am looked down upon as a person from Eastern Europe and West Asia, but without this straightforward aggressive treatment that I have experienced back in Eastern Europe. Xenophobes here are always under the disguise of a condescending smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have lived in Latvia, Russia, China and now Belgium. When one hears Russia and China, one might jokingly say I love dictatorships too much. This is not entirely true but having lived in places that are tough for queer people, or, actually, just people, has taught me a lot of resilience and I am thankful to have had those experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your current or future projects?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am lucky to be quite busy nowadays. Not going to lie, this feels amazing after the two years of artistic stagnation many have experienced during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August 2022, I started my own drag and queer show called Propaganda together with my drag sister Krasna<\/a>. We have also recruited one of my good friends, the Belgian-Albanian singer-songwriter King Kovaci<\/a> as our resident DJ and co-organiser. It has been a long time since we felt that queer shows in Western Europe do not fully represent us as people with different ethnic backgrounds. That’s why we decided to create a show that spotlights marginalized and erased queerness, and the LGBTQIA+ community in Eastern & Southern Europe and West Asia. Propaganda’s first edition took place on 20 August 2022 and it was quite a success. The next one will be on 15 October in Brussels, and once every two months from that point on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With King Kovaci we have a project of our own as well, a podcast & radio show (on queer & feminist radio Vacarme<\/a>) called Queer Mongering. In this podcast, we explore topics ranging from queer identities, and ethnic backgrounds to fashion, performance art and so much more, all through the queer point of view. And it\u2019s funny. The podcast is available on Spotify, you can stream it now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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