In this public event we bring together important thinkers and community leaders working across Netherlands / South Africa / Bosnia / South Asia / Palestine / South Sudan / Finland, among others. We welcome students, researchers and artists to reflect on the (imaginal and material) tools to dismantle the dominant narratives, modes of representation, and ways of knowing the “marginalized Other”/ marginality.
Each speaker will reflect on their praxis and some key thinkers whose works nourishes their ways of being and doing differently. This will open to larger questions on the imaginal and material work needed in and beyond academic and cultural spaces, and therefore the modalities of social transformation for knowledges and lives of/in/from margins to continue to thrive.
This conversation will be channelled by our panellists:
Ajak Majok
Ajak Majok is an intersectional feminist, social justice activist, and a memelover based in Helsinki. In 2019, Ajak began her political ventures to oppose social injustice by running for the Finnish parliamentary elections, and a few months later for the European Parliament for the Left Alliance. She is a currently deputy city councillor in Helsinki.
Dino Suhonić
Dino Suhonić is the director of the Maruf Foundation, an international platform dedicated to the support and advocacy of queer Muslims. As a prominent community organizer, educator, and author, Suhonić has significantly contributed to the discourse surrounding the intersectionality of race, religion, gender, and sexuality. He earned his Master of Science in Sociology from the University of Amsterdam, where his academic pursuits have laid the groundwork for his ongoing development of a Ph.D. project. This project, based on his master's thesis in the Sociology of Gender and Sexuality, is titled "Queering ‘the Muslim Question.’"
Mitchell Esajas
Mitchell Esajas is a co-founder of New Urban Collective, a network for students and young professionals from diverse backgrounds with a focus on the Surinamese, Caribbean and African diaspora. Esajas studied Business Studies and Anthropology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. In 2016 he co-founded the Black Archives in Amsterdam, a cultural center based on a unique collection of books, documents and artefacts documenting the histories of Surinamese and Black people in the Dutch context. The Black Archives develops exhibitions and public programs based on the collections and urgent societal issues.
Moe Mustafa
Moe Mustafa was born in Kuwait in 1985 to Palestinian parents, brought up in Jordan, and is currently based in Finland. Moe is a visual and sound artist, performer, and writer with an MA in Art and Media from Aalto University. His work spans text, sound, and performance, often focusing on themes of identity, memory, sexuality, and diaspora. Moe’s recent projects include Mascu-Fuck, a performance commissioned by Kiasma in 2023, and A Floating Body of Cloud, an audio essay exploring environmental sound and diasporic identity, commissioned by YLE and set for release in 2025. His work investigates the intersections of sound, politics, and emotion, with a focus on queer Arab experiences. Moe’s practice often questions the dynamics of belonging and desire, creating evocative narratives that challenge societal norms.
Vishnu Vardhani Rajan
Vishnu Vardhani Rajan (they/them) was born and raised in Hyderabad, India and is best described as a Body-Philosopher and Performance Artist, now based in Helsinki. Vishnu considers themselves a hyphenated identity pursuing multidisciplinary practices that build connections between art, science, witchcraft, history and cultures. They find themselves consistently exploring themes such as sleep, conflict, nutrition, night politics, food, shame, investigation of sensory experiences, through various media such as dance, acting and stand-up comedy. Vishnu's persona Vamp Master Brown has become known as the first Indian Drag King to grace the streets of Helsinki, Finland.
The discussion is chaired by:
Kolar Aparna
researcher at EuroStorie, University of Helsinki
Jody Metcalfe
researcher at Re/Presenting Europe, Utrecht University
Event details
This event is organized in collaboration by EuroStorie and Re/Presenting Europe.
Contact information
For any questions about the event or venue, don't hesitate to contact us at eurostorie-events@helsinki.fi.
When: April 15th, 2025, 5-7PM
Where: Think Corner Stage (Yliopistonkatu 4), University of Helsinki