“Free with the free. Equal with the equal” is the main slogan of this year’s edition of an Equality March, which will return on the 17 October to the streets of Lublin. Alongside the demonstration there will be a whole week of events dedicated to diversity and community called “Culture for Equality”. As part of it, there will be a “States of Weightlessness” (“Stany nieważkości”) meeting with the Lithuanian poet and artist Laima Kreivytė with her translator Dominika Jagiełka, co-organised by the European Capital of Culture Lublin 2029.
The name of the event refers to a poetry book written by Kreivytė. In her work, intimacy and desire intertwine with feminist resistance. The use of irony also allows us to look at what we often take for granted.
The meeting will take place on 17 October at 6 pm in The Black Room in the Centre for Culture in Lublin. Laima Kreivytė with her translator Dominika Jagiełka will talk about the freedom of expression, queer experience and translation, which requires sensitivity to both intimacy and the political power of a poem. Thanks to this meeting, the participants will have the chance to look at the poetry itself and what happens between the original text and its translation.
“States of Weightlessness” is among the works nominated for the “European Poet of Freedom” Gdańsk Literary Award 2026. The book can be purchased at the Dosłowna Bookshop in the Centre for Culture in Lublin.
European Capital of Culture Lublin 2029 is a co-organiser of the event which aligns with its bid book’s values such as breaking down barriers for cultural participation and fighting discrimination against marginalised groups, including the LGBTIQ+ community.
Among other things, it is reflected in the planned realisation of the interdisciplinary ‘Queerz Get Loud’ festival, which celebrates the culture of the LGBTQ+ community in a safer space as well as ongoing production support for independent queer-feminist collectives. Moreover, the bid book also envisages the introduction of the ‘Culture: Safe space’ certification scheme, which sets standards for institutions and events that are free from hate speech and exclusion because of sexual orientation or identity.
Culture for Equality
The meeting will be part of the “Culture for Equality” week (12-18 October) accompanying the 7th Equality March in Lublin. Included in the programme are cultural and social events themed around equality, diversity and unity. The idea was born from a question: who can talk about Lublin, create its culture and feel comfortable in places it happens? Over the next week, in different parts of Lublin, anyone interested will have the opportunity to meet, observe, listen, talk, and work together.
“Culture for Equality” will combine initiatives from artists, social organisations and institutions. It will also be an opportunity to experience something new and to observe how the recipients are invited to participate: whose work is included in the programme, who gets to decide about its shape, what type of barriers emerge at the entrance and how they can be removed.
“We want these meetings to leave a lasting legacy: relationships between people and organisations, new collaborations, and greater mindfulness in our everyday cultural work. The question of who co-creates the city’s culture is particularly important for Lublin, since it is currently preparing for its European Capital of Culture year”, highlight the initiators of “Culture for Equality”.
For people who are done pretending
The Equality March will return to the streets of Lublin on 17 October. Its slogan deliberately refers to the Union of Lublin and to Lublin as a city of coalition, agreement and shared responsibility.
“(…) we march. For LGBTQIA+ rights. For people who are visible and for those who still cannot be. For people who are done pretending, staying quiet, excusing themselves for existing. For safety. For dignity. For Lublin – a place in which no one has to disappear in order to deserve respect”, announce the march organisers.
“States of Weightlessness” meeting
Date: 17 October 2026 (Saturday) from 6-7 pm
Place: Centre for Culture in Lublin (12 Peowiaków Street), The Black Room (1st floor). Free admission, no registration required.
Accessibility: The event takes place in an architecturally accessible venue. You may enter the building with an assistance dog. The event will be held in Polish with interpretation into English (interpreters: Kacper Kobylski, Zuzanna Semczuk). There will be no interpretation into Polish Sign Language (PJM).
The “Culture for Equality” programme is organised by the Equality Union Association in cooperation with the European Capital of Culture Lublin 2029 institution and the Centre for Culture in Lublin. Culture for Equality is held under the honorary patronage of the European Commission Representation in Poland, Magdalena Biejat, Deputy Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, and Krzysztof Żuk, Mayor of the City of Lublin.
Author: Tomasz Kowalewicz
Translated by Gabriela Niewadzi
Proofread by Aleksandra Górecka
