THIS IS KAALO.EKSEYEK
At Kaalo.101 (EkSeyEk), we make revolutionary ideas accessible through art and support people to turn these ideas into actions. We are an all femme-/queer-run space that creates an entirely independent creative environment that empowers artists to make socially conscious and consciousness-raising work engaging with the physical, social, and cultural context and the communities around us.
During our journey, we renovated multiple traditional Newa houses DIY-style into exhibition spaces, residencies, studios, and libraries, where we continuously explore intentional and sustainable co-creating and -existence. Our six buildings with more than 20 rooms, open courtyards, studios, warehouse and shutter space are used for exhibitions, workshops, mentorships, concerts, reading circles, discussions, and experimental community-led initiatives. For most of our projects, we go beyond our walls to facilitate festivals, workshops, concerts, gatherings & exhibits in hidden courtyards, abandoned spaces and beautiful nooks in the city to connect with surrounding communities and share our work in public.
Kaalo.101 is not only a physical space but also a safe-brave thinking & acting ecosystem for our diverse and transcultural fam. We support risk-taking artists, activists and companions to explore complex and challenging social issues and offer a nurturing environment to express criticism by building community and resources. We don’t try to fit into anybody’s ideas about art and society but explore possibilities, values, beliefs, and non-hierarchical coexistence without limitations.
We encourage individuality and empower people to go beyond what they expect is possible — we aren’t just an art space but a living, breathing house that makes art part of our lives by challenging capitalism, hierarchies, and ideas such as the colonial and often intimidating art gallery. We offer a form of expression for anybody without elitist narratives and gatekeeping, focusing on access free from barriers like, for example, dense academic language, ticket costs and class assumptions. Our house, the art in it, and our connection with the wider community relate to Nepal’s and South Asia’s cultures, histories, and heritage with contemporary perspectives to share ideas and thoughts around identity, expression, and power dynamics that connect to both the art and social context. This connection of our physical and cultural setting with contemporary, critical, and progressive approaches gives us fertile ground to continually learn, unlearn, and relearn from each other and the people around us.
NO BULLSHIT!
WE WANT TO CREATE ENVIRONMENTS AND PLATFORMS WITH AN ATMOSPHERE WHERE PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES AND IN DIFFERENT PHASES OF THEIR LIVES CAN ALL FEEL COMFORTABLE AND WELCOME. WE COMMIT TO A SPACE THAT INVITES US ALL TO OPERATE FROM A PLACE OF COURAGE, CURIOSITY, GENEROSITY, AND SHARED RESPONSIBILITY.
WE WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY/ALL VIOLENCE/HARASSMENT AND INTIMIDATION OF A SEXUAL, PHYSICAL, VERBAL, EMOTIONAL OR ANY OTHER BULLSHIT BASED ON GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AGE, APPEARANCE, MARITAL STATUS, RELIGION, MENTAL HEALTH, PHYSICAL OR MENTAL ABILITIES OR ANY OTHER NONSENSE, AT ANY TIME OF DAY OR NIGHT, AND ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, GATHERINGS OR PROJECTS. WE DO NOT WELCOME ANYBODY WHO IS KNOWN TO CAUSE HARM IN WHATEVER WAYS TO OTHERS OR IS COMPLICIT IN SUCH BEHAVIOR BY PROVIDING PLATFORMS AND SPACES TO PREDATORS/PERPETRATORS OR ENABLING THEIR ACTIONS INDIVIDUALLY.
SUPPORT US WITH THIS BY GIVING EVERYONE RESPECT AND SPACE, CONTRIBUTE TO MAKING OUR COMMUNITIES SAFE AND BRAVE. DO NOT LET ANY CLASSISM, SEXISM, QUEERPHOBIA, RACISM, CASTEISM, AND/OR OTHER BIASES RUIN ANOTHER PERSON’S TIME. IF SOMEONE MAKES YOU FEEL UNSAFE & UNCOMFORTABLE OR IF YOU WITNESS ANY OF SUCH BEHAVIOR, PLEASE REACH OUT TO US. SHOULD WE RECEIVE SUCH COMPLAINTS, THERE WILL BE NO QUESTIONS ASKED, BUT ACTIONS TAKEN IMMEDIATELY, AND SUPPORT OFFERED READILY.
IF YOU NEED SUPPORT WRITING YOUR OWN CODE OF CONDUCT, OR WANT TO SEE OURS, PLEASE REACH OUT HERE.
A Practice of Redistribution and Refusal
Kaalo.EkSeyEk survives through our community’s labour and the mutual support of those who believe in our work. Contributions for stays, visits, and services aren’t absorbed into a system of profit — they’re redistributed as labour compensation, free living spaces, counselling, legal support, and local projects. This isn’t charity. It’s a deliberate practice of care and redistribution, built to sustain those who sustain the space and this environment.
People assume Kaalo runs on foreign aid and international funding. It doesn’t. Our activism is not based on funding and this approach is not sustainable in the long run. We have never received any core funding and support. A few commissioned projects from international institutions, but the space’s survival has never depended on foreign money. Sustainability here isn’t measured by the flow of external capital but by the strength of community and the refusal to be bought.
Independence and sustainability are not separate struggles. The cuts to US aid and the strings attached to foreign support make that clear. Dependency breeds compromise. Kaalo.EkSeyEk refuses to play that game. The focus is on small-scale, grassroots survival, community events and collaborations with friends for friends. No compromises on politics. No softening of intentions. No bending to power. A refusal to be co-opted and a commitment to building a space where survival is collective and care is political.
