Dear friends,
As we step into another year together, our hearts carry both grief and gratitude. We acknowledge the fears and uncertainties that surround us, while also honoring the moments of care, resistance, and growth that have strengthened us as a community. These experiences remind us why it is so vital to continue imagining and practicing collective solidarity, mutual support, and hope.
With deep sorrow, we have witnessed the increasingly fragile state of civil society in Vienna, Austria, the city where we are currently based. We were profoundly shaken by the financial cuts affecting our long-term partner and generous host of our embroidery project, Amerlinghaus. This unjust redistribution of resources leaves a lasting wound in the cultural and political fabric of the city and disproportionately harms grassroots, feminist, and community-led initiatives.
Beyond the challenges surrounding our base location, many members of our community are personally affected by the current political climate. We hold space for the pain caused by the ongoing terror inflicted by the Russian government on Ukraine, as well as the transphobic and homophobic legislation in Kazakhstan. These realities impact our bodies, our relationships, and our sense of safety, and we recognize them as part of the broader structures of oppression we continue to resist.
Despite these hardships, we remain committed to nurturing collective care and resilience. We keep the fire of resistance alive by grounding ourselves in shared values and by learning from one another across our differences. This year, our embroidery club welcomed over a hundred participants, weaving together handcraft, feminist practice, and community-building. These moments of making together have strengthened bonds and created spaces for reflection, healing, and empowerment.
We were also grateful to welcome a new partner to our Erasmus+ project Conflicts through Artistic Feminist Practices and Peaceful Conflict Mediation (Arts and Solidarity). Looking ahead, we are excited to be hosted by the Celadon Center of the Arts, a queer feminist organization that will organize a laboratory and co-host the project together with FemLink.
As we move forward, we look toward learning from fellow feminists who continue to strike for social justice, care for one another, and work to heal and rebuild communities fractured by patriarchy. We remain committed to this shared struggle and to each other.
With care and solidarity,
Your FemLink
