frei:räumchen – A Free Space for Sharing, Culture and Community in Rural Austria
Verein (association) GemSe – Gemeinsam Sein
Austria
The frei:räumchen is a community-run space in Wertschach, a small village in the Gail Valley (Carinthia/Koroška, Austria), operated by GemSe – Gemeinsam Sein and local people: a queer-feminist, anti-fascist, LGBTQIA+-friendly and anti-discriminatory collective and association. It combines a free shop (Kostnixladen) where goods change hands at no cost, a gallery for rotating and exhibitions, and an open meeting space for community gatherings, talks and lectures. Re-opening in April 2026, it is one of very few explicitly safe, inclusive public spaces in this rural and peripheral region – making
The frei:räumchen was opened in September 2025 by GemSe – Gemeinsam Sein, a queer-feminist, anti-fascist, LGBTQIA+-friendly association in the Gail Valley/Gailtal, a peripheral mountain region in Carinthia/Koroška, Austria. FINTA-led and grounded in intersectional, anti-discriminatory practice, the space re-opens every Wednesday 17:00–19:00 from April 2026.
Three dimensions: the Kostnixladen (free shop) where anyone can bring, swap or take goods at no cost; a gallery with rotating and exhibitions on local and regional history; and an open meeting room hosting community afternoons, lectures and talks – all free, no membership required.
Coordinated by GemSe board member Mika Palmisano and sustained by volunteers, the frei:räumchen is one of very few safe, explicitly queer-friendly and anti-discriminatory public spaces in this rural region. The microgrant would support the exhibition programme, outreach, and a visiting speaker series.