PRESS RELEASE
Forty Queer: Arcigay celebrates
his 40th birthday in Rome
with three days of events
From 26th to 28th September, in the spaces of The Social Hub,
Talks, workshops, and performances to remember the battles won and look to the new challenges for LGBTQIA+ rights.
Rome, 18 September 2025 – Forty years of struggles, conquests, meetings, pride: Arcigay celebrates this milestone with Forty Queer, a major event scheduled in Rome, in the spaces The Social Hub (Viale dello Scalo S. Lorenzo, 10) from September 26 to 28, 2025. Three days of meetings, culture, music, and mobilization to tell the story of the longest-running association in the Italian LGBTQIA+ movement and look to the future of rights.
The story
Arcigay was founded in Palermo on December 9, 1980, as the Italian Gay Cultural Recreational Association, in response to the tragic murder of two young gay men in Giarre. In 1985 it was established as a national association in Bologna, with Beppe Ramina as its first president and Franco Grillini as its secretary. The Cassero headquarters is historic, Italy's first LGBTQIA+ center in a public space. Since the 1980s, it has been at the forefront of the fight against HIV and civil rights, from the rights of same-sex couples to anti-discrimination laws. In 2012, it became a federation of associations: today, it has 73 local committees, with counseling and support centers in every region of Italy.
Guests and protagonists
The event will be attended by, in addition to the national president Natasha Maesi and to the Secretary General Gabriele Piazzoni, historical founders such as Franco Grillini And Beppe Ramina, activists like Pia Covre, Patrick Zaki, Djarah Kan, Muriel, Monica Romano, Peter Turano, Valentina Petrillo, journalists like Simone Alliva, John Tizian, Alba Nabulsi, Peter Forti, artist* as Alec Trenta, Giovanna Cristina Vivinetto, Laura Pusceddu, Yoko Yamada, Gabriele Piazza, Matthew Fallica, Serena Bongiovanni, Alessio Marzilli, Horea Sas, Labascus, Enna Nolde And Cloudface.
“"Forty Queer is not just a celebration," says Gabriele Piazzoni, general secretary of Arcigay, "but a moment of collective reflection on what has been achieved and the battles still open. In a time of attacks on fundamental rights, being here after 40 years is an act of resistance and pride.".
The program
The festival opens Friday, September 26 at 6pm with the opening of A community on display, an exhibition on the 40-year history of Arcigay, which can be visited in the exhibition area for all three days of the event. Also at 6 pm, at the Fuori! Stage, the meeting is scheduled 40 years of history with Franco Grillini, Ottavia Voza, Beppe Ramina, and Natascia Maesi. Moderated by Simone Alliva, the program will be introduced by Secretary General Gabriele Piazzoni. The program continues at 7:00 PM with the meeting How Homophobia Conquered Africa and the Global South, with Djarah Kan. At 7 pm, the screening of the documentary Repaired – The Church, Homosexuality, and the Violence of Conversion Therapies, produced by the newspaper Domani, which tells the stories of Rosario, Maria Silvia, and Luca, victims of the Church's conversion therapies; speakers include Alessia Arcolaci and Giovanni Tizian. At 9:30 p.m., Fortyqueer Comedy, a stand-up comedy show with Laura Pusceddu, Yoko Yamada, Gabriele Piazza, Matteo Fallica, Serena Bongiovanni, Alessio Marzilli, and Horea Sas; hosted by Silvana della Magliana.
The second day of Forty Queer, Saturday, September 27, is structured into a dense program of workshops, panels, and performances. From 10 to 11 a.m. Sun Salutation with YogaLab in the Frochill area; from 10am to 1pm, in the Spolato Area, the workshop will be held Ballrhome with Pony Gucci, dedicated to the techniques of Runway and Vogue Femme. Meanwhile, in the Hell's Kitchen Area, from 12 to 2 p.m., Alessio Cicchini (@RUCOOLAAA on social media) will lead a symbolic cooking class on the theme of fennel. Also in the morning, Angela Infante will lead a creative writing workshop (12:30-2 p.m., Spolato Area) based on chemsex stories, while Maria Bosco of GEOPOP will lead a science outreach workshop (1:15-2:30 p.m., Spolato Area), and Tommaso Spazzini Villa will lead a self-portrait workshop inspired by Virginia Woolf (2:30-4 p.m., Spolato Area). Numerous panels are scheduled for the morning: Sex Work in Progress (11:00-11:45, Folco Area) with Pia Covre, Olesea Croitor, Valeria Ruggeri, SWIPE Association and Manuela Macario; School and Resistance (11:00-11:45, Stonewall Arena) with Giovanna Cristina Vivinetto, Amin Abu Islaih, Colory, Donato's Parents Association, Marta Rohani; 40 Years of Journalism: The Story of LGBTQIA+ Sports with Francesca Muzzi and Marco Arlati; Queer Youth with creator Muriel, Sabrina Loparco and Antonio Auriemma; Local battles, international alliances with Stylianos Foteinopoulos, Angelica Polmonari and Roberto Muzzetta; The Cultural Revolution of Gender Studies with Francesca Romana Recchia Luciani and Luciano Lopopolo; Tomorrow's Memory with Aldo Simeone, Alessio Ponzio, Giorgio Bozzo and Claudio Tosi. In the afternoon, the FUORI! Stage hosts Free Free Palestine – Link with Global Sumud Flotilla with Patrick Zaki, Micol Meghnagi, Alba Nabulsi and Pietro Turano (5.30pm-7.00pm) and the live podcast of WILL: Closer with Carlo Notarpietro (7:00-7:30 pm). The evening culminates with the concert of Cloudface, Emma Nolde And Labascus (8:00pm-10:00pm) and the FortyQueer Ballrhome (10pm-12am), a vogue night with exceptional judges.
The last day, Sunday, September 28, opens again with the Sun Salutation with YogaLab in the Frochill area from 10 to 11 a.m. In the Spolato Area, Alec Trenta leads a comics workshop (Stereostorie, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.), followed by an online political journalism workshop with Pietro Forti (12:30-2 p.m.). The scheduled panels are: Let's disarm the patriarchy (11:00-11:45, Stonewall Arena) with Alice Orrù, Fabio Mollo, Michela Calabrò, We're Not Your Kind: Trans Voices and Struggles (11:45-12:30, Stonewall Arena) with Monica Romano, Valentina Petrillo, Silvia Pessina and Zoe, Christian Cristalli; Health, prevention services, and LGBTQIA+ associations with Claudio Garbelli, Fabiano Grassi, Enrico De Rosa, Valeria Rappini, Ilenia Pennini; Support and welcome for LGBTQIA+ people on the run (12:30-1:15 p.m., Stonewall Arena) with Tony Andrew, Giulia Gori, Rose, and Alberto Nicolini. The closing panel will be The gaze on the horizon (12.30-1.15pm, Spolato Area) with Federico Zappino (philosopher), Abicocca (creator), Lorenzo Matiello (MICA MACHO).
Thematic panels and performances will feature simultaneous translation in Italian (LIS). All events are free to attend, but due to limited capacity, reservations are recommended at this link: http://bit.ly/48kkRb0
All the info on the website https://fortyqueer.arcigay.it/
Press Office: Vincenzo Branà | [email protected] | mob: 3381350946
