Participants: Karol Radziszewski and Gyula Muskovics, editors of the issue, in conversation with László Láner, co-founder of Hungary’s first gay magazine, Mások 

Moderation: Olivér Horváth, visual artist

DIK Fagazine is the first art magazine in Central and Eastern Europe concentrated on homosexuality and masculinity. Founded in 2005 by Polish artist Karol Radziszewski, the publication fuses archival research with bold artistic reflection.

Previous issues have spotlighted the queer cultures of cities like Warsaw, Bucharest, Minsk, Kyiv, and Vienna. The Budapest Issue ties into Radziszewski’s exhibition Sinners, on view at acb Gallery until December 4, and was created in collaboration with curator Gyula Muskovics. It opens with fin-de-siècle art and stretches across the underground clubs and secret meeting spots of the 1980s, through the rise of LGBTQ+ activism around the regime change, right up to the present day. Across its 10 chapters, the magazine brings together striking figures such as Sándor Vay, Károly Ferenczy, Vaslav Nijinsky, Endre Rozsda, Károly Hopp-Halász, El Kazovsky, and Tamás Király; it explores the birth of the gay and lesbian movement through in-depth interviews; and it also offers an enticing glimpse into the hidden world of Budapest’s parks and nudist beaches.

The publication can be purchased at the event at a reduced price for 8,000 Ft.

Related event: On 5 and 6 December, Trafó presents the theatre performance Phobia by Markus Öhrn and Karol Radziszewski, featuring the pink commando of Fag Fighters in the leading role—recurring characters in Radziszewski’s works since 2007. As part of the Nothing About Us Without Us focus.

PROGRAM:
At the launch, the editors of DIK Fagazine #15 will be joined by László Láner, one of the founding editors of Mások magazine. Published between 1989 and 2008, Mások was Hungary’s first LGBTQ+ cultural and advocacy periodical.

The event will also feature two short films by Karol Radziszewski. Mon chéri Soviétique (2021, 28 min) tells the story of the last Soviet soldiers leaving Poland in the 1990s—though from a very different angle. At its centre is a soldier who, instead of fighting on the front line, chooses to undress in front of the camera. Afterimages (2018, 15 min) is a short story built around a single plate from the archive of Polish activist Ryszard Kisiel, founder of Filo, one of the first gay magazines in Central and Eastern Europe.nes in Central and Eastern Europe.