This is the first in a series of workshops titled “Self-Defense for Minorities Who Must Make a Living in the Art World” conceived by the artist Yishay Garbasz. This workshop is especially designed for those experiencing multiple oppressions at the same time—such as those experiencing disability and/or poverty, sex workers, trans women, refugees, those with a migration background and others. This workshop does not require an academic background or certification of any kind. You only need to be a practising artist.

This workshop is meant to arm you with point-of-use tools and knowledge of self and communal defence in the art world and in everyday life. The first part of the workshop is to understand our own relative positions in society—our privileges and our oppressions. From there, we will learn tactics for recognising power imbalances in everyday interactions, and discuss barriers to entry such as money, accessibility, and safety.

This course as a whole offers a framework to recognise power imbalances in interactions with individuals and institutions, as well as provide practical tools to survive and defend yourself.

“While those in positions of relative power may say “It’s hard for everyone in the Art world,” those of us on the margins experience that very differently.”

Yishay Garbasz is an Interdisciplinary artist who works in the fields of photography, film, performance and installation. Her main field of interest is trauma and the cultural specific inheritance of traumatic memory She also works on issues of human rights and identity with specific emphasis on the erasure of trans women. She explores some of humanities darkest places, from the oft invisible violence in the home to those out of sight at the borders. Her works make visible the invisible making the unsightly tenderly seen. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in galleries and museums internationally including Tokyo, Seoul, New York, Miami, Boston, Berlin, Paris, London, and at the Busan Biennale. She has two monographs and working on the third, the first of which was nominated for Deutsch photo book prize. She was Berlin women film maker in 2010 and a Thomas Watson fellow as well as 2021 Kunstfond work grant recipient.