Faris Cuchi Gezahegn
Faris Cuchi Gezahegn (they/them/she/her) is an intersectional LGBTQIA* advocate/activist, a performance artist, PCCC (Politically Correct Comedy Club) standup comedian, self-archivist, Ethiopian Queer knowledge and culture producer, and poet who uses different mediums such as style activism, writing, performance, and video/audio installations to bring social change and start a conversation that catalyzes change on issues they face while navigating day-to-day life as femme non-binary Ethiopian/African LGBTQIA* advocate with experience of asylum-seeking and refugee in Austria and also back to their homeland Ethiopia. They are co-founders and co-director and counter-narrative leaders at the House of Guramayle. House of Guramayle is a collaborative intersectional platform created by socially and politically marginalized Ethiopian activists worldwide. Through their work, they represented the Ethiopian Queer Community at Human Right Council in Geneva in Sept 2019 when their country Ethiopia was under the 33rd Universal Periodic Review session. They are co-founders of Celestial Poetic monthly QBIPoC open mic night at Freiräumchen at the historical queer community center Türkis Rosa TIPP aka Villa in Vienna. They are members and current vice-chair of Afro Rainbow Austria collective started by Queer African for Queer African in Austria by welcoming folks in their wholeness both as African/African decent queer bodies. They work with Queer Base on mental health that sculpts capacity centering the experience of Queer folks with knowledge of seeking asylum and refugee. Queer Base: an organization that welcomes queer folks that are seeking asylum by providing different services such as legal representation, social consulting, housing, and many more.
Works at brut:
- JUSTITIA! IL*LEGAL MONSTERS (2023)
- NEW ENDINGS (2023, with Stefanie Sourial, Hyo Lee, Patu, Janine Jembere, Sunanda Mesquita)
- City of Diaspora (2022)
