Pink decided to sum up the “Queerantin” online contest on May 21st, which is the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. It is an international holiday recognized by the United Nations to promote diversity and to create a bridge between cultures, which is the key to peace, stability and development.
Diversity Day is a great opportunity to help different communities understand the value of cultural diversity and learn how to live together in harmony. In 2001, the Buddhas of Bamyan monuemtns in Afghanistan, dating back to 6th century BC and representing the classic blended style of Gandhara art, were destroyed by the Taliban, and as a result of such barbaric cultural crime, May 21st was declared ” World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.”
Within the framework of the day, various events are organized aimed at various governmental bodies, non-governmental organizations and the general public, to promote the understanding issues of cultural diversity and development. World Diversity Day tends to be celebrated in countries that embrace their diverse cultural history and realize the importance of being inclusive.
The concept of diversity includes not only cultural aspects but also the race, language, religion, gender identity, social status, marital status, sexual orientation, etc. of a given community or a group of people.
Therefore, in connection with this day, we symbolically sum up the competition, which is characterized by diversity and is aimed at combating the hatred that erases and destroys diversity.
Dedicated to IDAHOBIT, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, Pink organized an online competition-exhibition called “Queerantin”․
Taking into account the situation created by the coronavirus pandemic, we decided to unite and find creative ways to celebrate the IDAHOBIT. Wanting to inspire, support and engage LGBT people, we decided to hold the competition online, encouraging people to stay home.
That’s why we decided to name the competition-exhibition “Queerantine”, the purpose of which was to encourage people to use art as a tool of activism during quarantine. It is also symbolic that isolation and social distancing are daily conditions and a constant struggle for LGBT people.
Within the framework of the competition, the participants presented their works of art, which reflect the ideas of tolerance and exclusion of discrimination, the themes of peaceful coexistence of people, the fight against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia. The best works will be later used, with copyrights respected, for printing postcards, information materials, etc. There were 3 prize places, one place would be chosen by Pink and two others by online voting.
All the images received were uploaded to the organization’s Facebook and Instagram pages, where during the 7-day online exhibition, social media users had the opportunity to choose the best ones between the presented works, voting in favor of the preferred works.
Summarizing the results, we present to you the winning authors and their works:
1st place winner is Mariam Terzian “more diverse more connections” for the work chosen by Pink
2nd place winner is Sona “Love is Love” with the most likes on Instagram
3rd place winner is Sona Turabyan Sonet with the most likes on Facebook
We would also like to mention that Pink’s employee submitted her works to the competition, whose photo series were posted on the website and on social media pages, but were out of competition, and the voting commission formed by the organization did not consider the works within the framework of “Queerantine”.
Congratulations to the winners of the competition. We thank all the participants and voters and we would encourage you to always be a supporter of diversity.