Reaching Out: NeMolchi Exhibition Held In Almaty

On December 9 and 10, the exhibition project "Reflection" opened in the Great Hall of the Archive in Almaty.

It was held as part of the International Campaign "16 Days Against Gender Violence."

NeMolchi organized it.

Its accounts are blocked, and criminal cases have been opened against its president, Dina Smailova (Tansari).

The author of all these paintings, Dina Tansari, faces fraud charges, so she cannot return to Kazakhstan and is forced to work from Europe. According to one founder, Tatyana Korol, they continue to operate but cannot fully carry out human rights activities. 

As a social activist, I want to say that I am very intimate with Dina’s feelings because I too have been prosecuted by the authorities, I know how judges can lie, simply fabricating cases, Human rights activist Saltanat Tashimova said.

Dina Tansari addressed the guests in a video.

I would like to tell you, these paintings... You should not look at them as works of art, you should look at them as works that were painted in the moment, in a state of the strongest energy flow. There is a lot of negativity around us. And this was to transform this negativity into something positive. That is why this exhibition happened today. I call it "Reflection" because it reflects the true me, the one you are not familiar with. Here I am as I am. I ask you to treat it with a little understanding,she said

Guests could buy a painting they liked at the auction. The price started at 30,000 tenge, and the proceeds go to the fund.

Dina Tansari's book The Basement could also be purchased at the event, and those who wish could donate to the fund. The exhibition was free to visit.

As Tatyana Korol noted, organizing the exhibition turned out to be complicated:

Until the very end, we were afraid that there might be provocations and that we would be denied the lease of the site. That's why we carefully chose a place where we were 100% sure that the owners would not say 'farwell' to us at the last moment.

Tatyana supervised the event's organization and personally brought some of the exhibits from Europe.

The exhibition also featured a teaser for a documentary. The project director said she is actively seeking funding.

The film is currently in pre-production, I'm looking for funds. There are no investors, this is a big problem. Because in Kazakhstani cinema there is only one state fund, where there is a lot of censorship and it is quite difficult to find any support for such a topic. So, the only way out for me is to look for financing from foreign funds. We are currently negotiating with some producers, production companies, mostly from Europe, said director Diana Beckett. 

The film depicts women's resilience and the fight for justice. The focus is on the #NeMolchi foundation, which receives victims' appeals. 

The film is no longer about stories, but about the strength of women who have survived violence, about the strength of Dina, who collects and carries all these stories through herself and helps women heal. I want to show through it that people can get out of this, added Diana Beckett.

The performance "A Call That Will Be Answered" was on December 10, the second day of the exhibition. It was staged based on interviews with volunteers of the #NeMolchi foundation.

Tatyana Korol also spoke about the current situation with the fund.

We have fewer employees because we had interruptions in payments. In addition, people themselves are burning out. The fact that we work with enthusiasm does not mean that everyone can and should do so. We understand, she shared. 

Employees also find it hard to accept "hate and pressure from the police psychologically." 

The fund is currently expecting staff reductions.

We receive 50-70 requests per day. Without employees, we could process 30 messages, with them we could easily process 70 per day, but now we will have a reduction in this, explained Tatyana Korol.

Until the fund gets things back on track, employees must work with people on a first-come, first-served basis.

Original Author: Yegor Grozny