Bart Staszewski, author of LGBT-Free zone project (photo: Przemyslaw Stefaniak)
Recently Poland has witnessed an unprecedented wave of institutionalized homophobia. Polish municipalities across an area greater than the size of Hungary have since 2019 adopted resolutions that discriminate against LGBT people and make intolerance official.
Local municipalities across a third of Poland have adopted resolutions “against LGBT propaganda” or “pro-family”, creating target of members of own communities - the LGBT people.
By beginning of 2020 almost 100 municipalities have adopted the resolutions include five province.
I invented my project in late 2019 and made it public at the beginning of 2020. I go to regions that declared as LGBT-free and I am making photos of LGBT people who are from there. I designed a sign that is an outcome of homophobic resolutions and I hang it right under the sign with name of city, province or county that declared as LGBT-free zone. By my project I want to show LGBT-people that politicians choose to be enemy of tradition, family and Catholic values.
I continue my project and I want to visit 37 city, province and counties, with a view to documenting LGBT people, listening to their stories.
On my website you can read:
- What are LGBT-Free zones and example of such resolution
- Photos and stories
- About my background
- Current news about project
- Planned exhibitions

Media attention:
Activist Aims to Shame Polish Towns Opposed to LGBT Community by New York Times
Poland’s ‘LGBT-free zones’ pose an eerie threat to equality in Europe by observatoryihr.org
Life inside Poland’s “Gay-Free Zones” by channel4.com
These photos highlight the human hurt over Poland's 'LGBT-free zones' by euronews
La Pologne ouvre la chasse aux gays by charliehebdo.fr
"LGBT free zones" in the Lublin region. These signs are shocking but legal by streetwise
Activist fights homophobia in Poland with photo series of 'LGBT-free' zones by cbc.ca
This activist depicts the victims of Poland’s ‘LGBT-free zones’ through photography project by out.tv
Activist signposts Polish towns as “LGBT-free zones” in protest against anti-LGBT resolutions by notesfrompoland.com
Hård kritik från EU mot hbtq-fria zoner i Polen by etc.se
Manifest över ett nytt Europa by Alice Bah Kuhnke, swedish MEP
Les zones "sans idéologie LGBT" en Pologne s'étendent de manière inquiétante by huffingtonpost.fr
Seksuaalivähemmistöt nostettiin Puolassa tikun nokkaan – kaupungit julistautuvat "seksuaalivähemmistöjen ideologiasta" vapaiksi ja valtapuolueen ohjaama media hyökkää vähemmistöjä vastaan by mtvuutiset.fi
LGBT-freie Zonen in Polen - auch deutsche Partnerstädte sind irritie by tagesschau.de
Polens Botschafter: «LGBT-Ideologie können Katholiken nicht billigen» by mannschaft.com
Kreativer Protest gegen "LGBT-freie Zonen" by web.de
Polen: Wirbel um Fotoprojekt gegen "LGBT-freie Zonen" by queer.de
Diese queeren Menschen leben in Polen in sogenannten LGBTQIA-freien Zonen by ze.tt
In posa davanti ai comuni 'liberi dai gay': in Polonia la comunità Lgbt chiede aiuto all'Ue by globalist
Fotografiando las ‘zonas libres de LGTB’ en Polonia by elsaltodiario.com
Bart Staszewski, le photographe activiste qui montre les villages polonais se déclarant "zone sans LGBT" by rtbf.be
Escàndol a Polònia: el govern d'ultradreta declara zones lliures d'LGTBI by el nacional
50 περιοχές της Πολωνίας δηλώνουν «LGBT-free» κι ένας φωτογράφος τις ξεμπροστιάζει φανταστικά by mikropragmata
Οι «Ζώνες χωρίς ΛΟΑΤ» είναι μία από τις χειρότερες στιγμές της Ευρώπης
„V Polsku je přes 90 LGBT-free zón. Vyhlašují je samosprávy. Mluví o duhovém moru,” říká polský aktivista by hatefree.cz
Polské obce nenávistnými „LGBT free zónami“ zraňují skutečné lidi, ukazuje aktivista by alarm a2larm.cz
Tretjina Poljakov živi na "območjih brez ideologije LGBT" by rtvslo.si
↑Back to Top