13 October 2020 | Tuzinfm
The Belarusian Culture Solidarity Foundation has been launched. It emerged as a response to the political crisis in the country.
Artists who actively express their civic position are fired, arrested, and subjected to psychological pressure. This fact outrages the cultural community. More than 1,200 cultural and artistic figures have signed an open letter to the authorities demanding to invalidate the presidential elections and stop the violence of law enforcement agencies. To support the representatives of the Belarusian cultural community, the Belarusian Culture Solidarity Fund was established.
The main goal of the Foundation is to help the representatives of the Belarusian cultural community legally, financially, and psychologically. Those who were / will be fired, or resigned in protest, or found themselves in a difficult life situation.
The second branch of the Foundation’s activity is to promote free creative spirit through the support of ideas. Preference will be given to fast-track projects (street graffiti, creative performance, video art, etc.).
The foundation is headed by Siarhei Budkin, cultural manager and producer, and Maryna Shukiurava (Rusia) – a singer and cultural activist.
Maryna Shukiurava: “I accepted the offer to work in the Foundation because I can’t tolerate what the authorities have done to my friends and the country. In today’s world, publicity and media pressure are powerful weapons, and, at the moment, our only opportunity to unite is to stick together and achieve our main goal – to live in a new free Belarus.”
The Belarusian Culture Solidarity Foundation is a branch of the BY_SOL Foundation. Its activities are supported the same way by the representatives of the Belarusian expatriate community and business circles.
Siarhei Budkin: “For me, the opportunity to work in the Foundation is an attempt to bridge the divide between two different versions of Belarus, in which we have lived so far. I believe that cultural figures can now unite with a common goal. We need change, and we need to focus on it. We will deal with the other issues in the working mode after the victory.”
The Foundation’s management hopes that its activities will draw the attention of the Belarusian society, the international community, and the media to the free Belarusian culture, and contribute to the rise of effective creative alliances and joint projects.
TuzinFM – an information portal about cultural resistance and current culture will act as a media platform of the Belarusian Culture Solidarity Foundation.
More details to be found on the Foundation’s page and on their Facebook page.
