The Overcoming the Culture of Humiliation project, which ran from 2018 to 2019, had two main components. The first was a series of workshops in illustration, comics, poetry and multimedia art, which empowered young people to express their experiences through art. The workshops resulted in an exhibition featuring a diverse range of artworks created by young LGBTIQ+ people with experiences of peer violence and online violence based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The main aim of the project was to raise public awareness of this pressing issue and the negative consequences and challenges it causes.

The first phase of the project focused on a series of art-based workshops designed to introduce a group of young LGBTIQ+ people to art as a tool for expressing and overcoming their own experiences of peer violence. Art is a universal means of communication that we experience emotionally and intimately, making it easier to understand and empathise with the issues presented. In this way, it can encourage social change among the wider public and provide a means of expression for people exposed to different forms of discrimination and bullying. Art therefore offers multiple benefits: it provides an opportunity to reach a wider audience and promote a strong anti-violence message, while the creative process itself can offer significant comfort and support to survivors of violence.

The workshops covered four artistic fields: illustration, comics, poetry and multimedia art. They were led by artists from different LGBTIQ+ organisations. With professional mentoring from artists and educational support from trainers from Društvo Parada ponosa, young participants developed specific skills in their chosen artistic field. Another aim of the workshops was to create a safe space where young LGBTIQ+ people with experiences of peer violence could feel included and valued, and where they could express and share their stories.

The artworks created during the first phase of the project were subsequently included in an exhibition, which opened in June 2019 as part of the Ljubljana Pride Festival at Ljubljana City Hall.

The Overcoming the Culture of Humiliation exhibition and workshops are available for presentation at schools and youth centres across Slovenia, with the aim of raising awareness of peer violence against LGBTIQ+ people in schools and the wider community. We also want to highlight the fact that young LGBTIQ+ people are an integral part of the community and, like everyone else, need protection and a safe space where they can participate, live and exist.