We are pleased to welcome LEVAU, a Georgian queer visual artist, drag performer and fashion designer, as an HRD-Resident at AR-Safe Haven Helsinki at Villa Eläintarha.
LEVAU’s multidisciplinary practice explores identity, transformation, memory and queer existence through performance, costume, installation and wearable art.
Inspired by Georgian folklore, mythology, traditional textiles and contemporary culture, LEVAU combines handcrafted techniques, upcycled materials and theatrical elements to create immersive works that challenge conventional ideas of gender, belonging and self-expression. Their work brings personal narratives into dialogue with cultural heritage, creating spaces where transformation becomes both an artistic and political act.
As an openly queer artist working in Georgia, their public performances have faced online harassment and threats. Despite these challenges, LEVAU has built a strong artistic presence in Georgia. In 2025, they were selected as a winner of the Feradi Business programme, supported by the United Nations Development Programme. They have also received funding from Equality Movement, one of Georgia’s leading LGBTQI+ organisations, in recognition of their independent artistic and activist work. LEVAU is supported by Georgia-based queer organisations, Temida and Queer Initiative, which continue to stand alongside queer people and fight for their rights and equality.
During their residency in Helsinki, LEVAU will develop a multidisciplinary project exploring identity, transformation and self-expression through drag, performance, fashion, textiles and installation. Drawing on their personal experience and embodied relationship with identity and self-expression, they will expand drag into a deeper artistic language while experimenting with sustainable materials and traditional textile techniques.
Since 2025, Artists at Risk (AR) has piloted a programme supporting Human Rights Defenders (HRD) with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, ProtectDefenders.EU and the City of Helsinki and. We thank our partners and funders for making this possible!
Welcome to Helsinki, LEVAU! 🇬🇪🇫🇮
