Rietveld Uncut 2020 | We Were Here by Anton Shebetko

We Were Here by Anton Shebetko (Photography)

The central figures of the project We Were Here are Ukrainian LGBT+ community representatives. They were engaged in Anti-Terrorist Operation in the east of Ukraine and currently take part in JFO (Joint Forces Operation) as soldiers and volunteers. As of 2018, more than 330,000 Ukrainians took part in the Anti-Terrorist Operation on the east of Ukraine. No data exist on the number of LGBT+ persons among them. The far right groups and people who share conservative views strongly believe that they do not exist within this context. The project aims to shed light on individuals who are modern Ukrainian heroes on the one hand, and on the other, ignored by the majority of their fellow citizens.

This video is part of: Rietveld Uncut 2020

For the fourth consecutive time, the Rietveld Uncut team has worked towards an exhibition of these projects in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, this year under the title Relating (to) Colour. Students investigate "colour" from different perspectives and meanings.

Due to government measures to control the coronavirus, the Rietveld Uncut exhibition and the Studium Generale conference week in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in March 2020 were cancelled. Participants were asked to create digital translation of their projects and share this with the online audience.