Values
Inclusion
We are queer-feminist event, and we prioritise creating a safer space for the LGBTQI community, and other marginalised groups. We are aware that sexual orientation and gender identity are only one way that people are marginalised. Many queer people also experience other forms of marginalization, among them Black people and People of Colour, people with disabilities, old people, fat people, neurodivergent people, people with a migration history or people who are read as migrants, people with low income or low education, and non-dyadic people. When organizing the Festival of Sensations, we strive to take into account the specific needs that arise from different experiences of discrimination. We aim to create the most accessible space possible.
We will do this by:
- Providing low income tickets and other opportunities for financially disadvantaged people to attend, and fully participate.
- A wheelchair accessible venue, with free entry for assistant humans and animals.
- A dedicated care team, to provide support when needed.
- A curated attendee selection phase to prioritize attendance by multiply marginalized people.
Please get in touch if you have any feedback, advice or concerns about inclusivity.
More of our Values
Body-positive
“Self-love also means clarity and acknowledging ones own needs, boundaries, yearnings and desires and to take the self-responsibility for their realization.” – Sara Ablinger from Big Body Love
For Festival of Sensations, Body-positivity means acceptance of all bodies, especially those usually not celebrated or prized by conventional beauty standards. Regardless of size, shape, age, skin tone, physical abilities, or conformity to sexual stereotyping, all bodies deserve respect and love.
We aim to provide a space where people can celebrate their bodies in new ways. We are informed by fat liberation and anti-racist practices. Each of us needs to examine our place in bodily hierarchies. We don’t only want to “accept” unconventional features of our bodies, but embrace them!
Positivity isn’t easy! We acknowledge variations in bodily self-perceptions thanks to arbitrary beauty standards, and hope to work together to work out new ways to develop and affirm our confidence, and our self-worth.
Soberness
Festival of Sensations is an event where we’ll establish a break from the usual centering in commercial (queer) spaces around substances, especially alcohol.
This value is important to us both to allow full participation from people who can’t or don’t want to drink alcohol and feel unsafe in environments where substances are used, and to allow for the full and open politics of body liberation we’ve found is only possible in sober spaces.
While we are understanding and accepting of diverse medical needs (including self-medication), we ask all participants to avoid recreational use of alcohol and other drugs. There will be no alcohol sold or allowed on the festival premises and campsites.
We welcome dialogue on how to implement this value practically while keeping to its spirit. Let’s build another type of queer space, together!
Queer Feminism
Queer-feminism is an attempt at a more inclusive movement towards emancipation, drawing together a coalition of different oppressed groups. Queer-feminists recognise variations in sexual orientation and experience, rather than deny them.
As queer-feminists, we know that safer spaces are not an easy goal. Each of us can face multiple forms of oppression. We have different needs around our shared struggles.
Our event will break new ground in Austria by establishing an environment where people from every background can find connections to ourselves, and to others. Together we hope to start overcoming the marginalization and stigmatization we’ve faced throughout our lives.
Consent
Consent is about our right to say “Yes” or “No” to whatever affects us directly.
Consent is a key value of our event. Festival of Sensations is a weekend long celebration of our bodies, and all five of their senses. We will provide a diverse selection of ways to expand and explore our somatic and sensual limits.
In that light, we aim to create an event where people can celebrate what their bodies can do. That means feeling completely safe in saying “No” to anything which we don’t want to do. That means listening to each other about what we do and don’t want.
Consent should exist in every moment. So keep on communicating, with this in mind:
- There is no pre-consent – any given consent can be withdrawn a minute later, so check-in with others regularly
- Enthusiastic consent is vital when getting to know people – only a “Hell Yes” is a “Yes”
- We respect personal boundaries – at Festival of Sensations we respect all different kinds of a “No”. Explanations or justifications are not required to respect a “No”. A “No” is a complete sentence!
An awesome model is the FRIES acronym: “Consent should always be Freely Given, Reversible, Informed, Enthusiastic and Specific.”
Our CONCEPT
A colorful carnival of queerness & body positivity!
Rare are the places where we can do whatever we want. Places where we are allowed to freely pursue our desires and forms of expression, where social norms can be discarded. The Festival of Sensations is an event that creates such a place: A colorful carnival of queerness & body positivity!
Guests will not only be able to watch performances, talks, art and theater, but will also be able to become artistically active themselves – taking into account the necessary health safety measures in each case.
The body positive approach of the event creates a foundation to gently reconnect with oneself and others. After 2 years of pandemic, it is essential for us all to get to know and love itself and others anew. Our festival will provide for this with workshops, classes, talks and interactive games, providing tools to make new connections.
Consent, Care and Confidentiality
At the center of the event are the three Cs: Consent, Care and Confidentiality. The consent of all participants, consideration and confidentiality. In addition, there will be enough room for your own creativity, experimentation and self-expression. We invite our guests to contribute themselves creatively, and become part of the festival.
The Festival of Sensations was created out of the desire to give queer expression a platform, and to put it in the center instead of just on the sidelines. We strive to provide a safeR space for sensual development, physical expression and create ideal conditions through our diverse program, which is both participatory and just invites you to watch and enjoy.
bringing the queer community together
The festival also aims to provide opportunities for networking – as we are inviting queer activists and facilitators from all over Europe. Together instead of alone and in the fresh air instead of on the internet!
In our society, many people face marginalization. Queer and fat people, as well as people with immigrant backgrounds, often experience feelings of exclusion, being stared at and judged. This festival aims to create a safeR space where they can creatively and artistically live out their needs and expressions. Queer art is to be celebrated and the network strengthened. Together instead of alone and in the fresh air instead of on the internet.
Numerous workshops, performances & theater productions, installations, live music, DJ sets, a costume corner, film screenings, talks and discussions will bring together the themes of sensuality, sexuality, gender, utopia, love and connection within this festival.
On Festival of Sensations there is no space for:
- people who think there’s only two sexes/genders
- people who “don’t see color”
- people who think that fat people should just exercise more and are unhealthy
- people who think kinky people are sick/shameful
- people who deny disabled people their sexuality
- people who think that poor people are lazy
- people who think that migrants are homophobic and assaultive
- people who think that cis men are the real victims of patriarchy
We are aware that sexual orientation and/or gender identity are only one of many marginalized affiliations – people are not only queer but also experience other forms of marginalization, among them black people and people of color, people with disabilities, old people, fat people, neurodiverse people, people with a migration history or people who are read as migrants, people with low income or low education, etc. When organizing the Festival of Sensations, we strive to take into account the specific needs that arise from different experiences of discrimination and to create the most accessible space possible.