LIANA GEORGI
Musical artist and activist Liana Georgi first caught the public eye during the 2021 Pride in Istanbul—which had been banned by local authorities—when a video of her impeding the progression of police in riot gear went viral. “I slowed down the police, telling them, ‘Baby, I have heels on,’ to prevent them from further attacking my fellow LGBTQIA+ [people],” the German/Bulgarian singer recalls. The incident made her an overnight star in Turkey, and Georgi uses this newfound recognition to uplift the LGBTQ+ community—although not necessarily by strutting slowly in front of police. “Music is a safer form of activism,” she says. “I want to make music and I deeply believe in the power of pop culture—it connects people from all over the world and can change mindsets.” Following her viral moment, Georgi collaborated with producer Mike Sabath on her song, “All for Love,” and with director Slava Dotchevya and nonbinary model Rain Dove on the music video for her song, “Change”—also the first known Bulgarian lesbian music video. Her vision as an artist is “to create big music projects, employ queer people from countries like Turkey and Bulgaria, and contribute to change in society simply by singing about lesbian experiences and being my authentic self,” she explains. “We need to see people on stage and on TV who share their spotlight with other women, with other people of color, queer folk, people with disabilities, people of different beliefs, different body types, ages, who understand art as a form of protest.”
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