Sauna & Subculture
Meet Danish author Mads Ananda Lodahl and Syrian award-winning writer Khaled Alesmael in a conversation exploring sauna culture and queer life. Together, they take us on a subcultural journey from Syria to Copenhagen. Drawing on their artistic practices and personal experiences, they delve into the many facets of sauna culture - from clandestine queer communities in traditional hammams to discreet sauna clubs in the heart of Copenhagen.
They examine how queer lives are lived, concealed, shaped, and expressed across different cultural contexts, moving between the underground and the visible, from vulnerability to liberation.
The discussion touches on themes of migration, identity, and sexuality, while also focusing on the spaces and subcultures where alternative communities emerge and endure. Here, the sauna becomes both a physical setting and a cultural phenomenon: a space for intimacy, anonymity, care, and a sense of politically charged belonging.
The event invites audiences into an open and reflective conversation about the diversity of queer culture, its histories and its significance today.