Ninth edition of Festival of Queer and Feminist Culture Smoqua from October 9th to 11th brings an artistic program that invites us to reflect on love, freedom, and resilience – while reimagining queer experiences in unexpected places. Exhibitions and performances celebrate intimacy, joy, and visibility, turning Rijeka into a gallery of emotions and ideas.
Let's explore together queer art that makes Smoqua unique – tender and provocative, brave and poetic!
Exhibition Opening "24 BACI (24 KISSES)", Matthias Dürr
- Thursday, October 9th 2025
- 19:00 – 19:30
- 📍 O.K. Gallery, Krešimirova 26
Kako izgleda ljubav kada je življena bez straha? Kroz seriju portreta LGBTIQ+ parova u intimnim trenucima poljupca, Dürr istražuje krhkost, ljepotu i političku snagu tih trenutaka. Za nadodani novi postav izložbe zaslužan je Luka Pešun.
A kiss, so often taken for granted in a heteronormative society, can for these couples be an act of both courage and resistance. Each portrait carries a powerful message: love is love, regardless of gender, sex, or sexual orientation. At a time when the LGBTIQ+ community still faces discrimination and prejudice, this exhibition provides a space for empowerment and visibility, symbolizing the struggle for acceptance, equality, and respect for human rights.
The exhibition invites us to reflect on universal love, identity, and freedom. Organised in cooperation with Proces, Pula. Open until October 17, 2025.
Exhibition Opening "Lili Celebrates Feminist Joy", Judith Lava
- Friday, October 10th 2025
- 16:00
- 📍 Srce, VBZ bookstore, Korzo 9
Through her playful alter-ego Lili, Austrian artist Judith Lava releases feminist joy that knows no limits – rejecting conventions, moral restrictions, and political correctness with wit and boldness.
The exhibition is organised with the financial support of the Austrian Cultural Forum Zagreb.
Learn more about Judith Lava’s work here.
Photography Exhibition “Queer Moments in Lost Spaces”, Barbara Essl*
- Saturday, October 11th 2025
- 18:00 – 19:00
- 📍Circolo (2nd floor), Uljarska 1
What happens when queer bodies reclaim abandoned and forgotten spaces of history? Barbara Essl transforms industrial ruins, the historic Hotel Emigranti, the once-innovative Torpedo factory, and old railway warehouses into poetic stages of queer visibility. Where time has stopped, new stories emerge – resistant, vulnerable, unforgettable.
* Activity organized in collaboration with the Comunità degli Italiani di Fiume – Italian Community of Rijeka.
Attività organizzata in collaborazione con la Comunità degli Italiani di Fiume – Zajednica Talijana Rijeka.
„Queer Moments in Lost Places“ è un’installazione artistica fotografica dell’artista austriaca Barbara Essl che pone al centro corpi e identità queer – non sui palcoscenici del potere, ma negli spazi abbandonati e dimenticati della storia. In aree industriali dismesse, nello storico Hotel degli Emigranti, nel Depot Rijeka, nel sito storico del cantiere navale Torpedo, questi luoghi si trasformano in palcoscenici poetici della visibilità queer. Danzatori e attori entrano in un dialogo silenzioso con muri che si sgretolano, ferro arrugginito, tempo sospeso – e scrivono le loro storie contro l’oblio.
✨All events are free to attend..
