Christian Michelides
Encyclopedia
Christian Michelides is an Austria
n psychotherapist. He is the director of Lighthouse Wien.
and history of theatre
in Vienna
, while still publishing articles in Austrian and Italian newspapers and magazines.
In the 1980s Michelides was a collaborator for the new founded magazine WIENER, then joined the ad agency GGK Wien and the marketing team of the Swiss watch Swatch
in Biel. At the same time he organized a series of exhibitions in Vienna and published some catalogues. In 1983 he organized an art fair for photography in the Wiener Stadthalle
. Together with Jorit Aust he founded Studio Molotov, a gallery for art photography.
In the early 1990s he served as a journalist for the magazine FORVM
and other publications in Austria and Germany. Michelides wrote about the membership of Thomas Bernhard
in a conservative party organization called the Bauernbund, Rudolf Augstein
publishing in the Nazi paper Völkischer Beobachter
, and finally disclosed Gertrud Fussenegger, Austria's most prominent female author, as a former avid Hitler worshipper. Michelides also discovered that the Austrian Academy of Sciences had secretly stopped awarding the Grillparzer Award, a prize for dramatists in the name of Austrian national poet Franz Grillparzer
, and he researched and documented the expansionistic endeavours of großdeutsch oriented Alfred Toepfer
and his close ties to Joseph Goebbels
Starting in 1994 Michelides changed his focus to human rights activism and the defence of minorities. In June 1995 he founded the first International Human Rights Tribunal
in Vienna. Michelides served as an attorney general
. The theme of the tribunal was the discrimination and persecution of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender-persons in Austria during the period from 1945 to 1995.
Michelides was the founder of the initiative Häfn human, that counselled and visited prison inmates
, he fought against discrimination
of people with HIV
und AIDS
and participated in grassroot organisations like Club Plus, Selfhelp Vienna and Social Work from underneath. From 1995 to 1997 Michelides chaired the Austrian Lesbian and Gay Forum
(ÖLSF) and was one of the driving forces behind Austria's first LGBT
parade, called Regenbogenparade. In 1998 he started his social work for the homeless.
In 2000 Michelides founded Lighthouse Wien, a shelter for homeless drug addicts with severe trauma
s, many of them HIV-positive. In 2002 he was graduated as a Sex and Mental Health Counselor
, in 2010 he completed his education as a group analyst and a psychotherapist.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n psychotherapist. He is the director of Lighthouse Wien.
Life and Career
In 1973 Michelides started to work as an opera critic of a provincial newspaper called Südost Tagespost. He earned his high school diploma in 1978. Thereafter he studied philosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and history of theatre
History of theatre
The history of theatre charts the development of theatre over the past 2,500 years. While performative elements are present in every society, it is customary to acknowledge a distinction between theatre as an art form and entertainment and theatrical or performative elements in other activities...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, while still publishing articles in Austrian and Italian newspapers and magazines.
In the 1980s Michelides was a collaborator for the new founded magazine WIENER, then joined the ad agency GGK Wien and the marketing team of the Swiss watch Swatch
Swatch
Swatch is a brand name for a line of wrist watches from the Swatch Group, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products...
in Biel. At the same time he organized a series of exhibitions in Vienna and published some catalogues. In 1983 he organized an art fair for photography in the Wiener Stadthalle
Wiener Stadthalle
Wiener Stadthalle is an indoor arena, located in the 15th district of Vienna, Austria. It was designed by Austrian architect Roland Rainer and built from 1953–1958...
. Together with Jorit Aust he founded Studio Molotov, a gallery for art photography.
In the early 1990s he served as a journalist for the magazine FORVM
FORVM
FORVM was an Austrian cultural and political magazine, published in Vienna from 1954 till 1995, founded by Friedrich Hansen-Loeve, Felix Hubalek, Alexander Lernet-Holenia und Friedrich Torberg with the financial and logistical support of the Congress for Cultural Freedom...
and other publications in Austria and Germany. Michelides wrote about the membership of Thomas Bernhard
Thomas Bernhard
Thomas Bernhard was an Austrian novelist, playwright and poet. Bernhard, whose body of work has been called "the most significant literary achievement since World War II," is widely considered to be one of the most important German-speaking authors of the postwar era.- Life :Thomas Bernhard was...
in a conservative party organization called the Bauernbund, Rudolf Augstein
Rudolf Augstein
Rudolf Karl Augstein was one of the most influential German journalists, founder and part-owner of Der Spiegel magazine....
publishing in the Nazi paper Völkischer Beobachter
Völkischer Beobachter
The Völkischer Beobachter was the newspaper of the National Socialist German Workers' Party from 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from February 8, 1923...
, and finally disclosed Gertrud Fussenegger, Austria's most prominent female author, as a former avid Hitler worshipper. Michelides also discovered that the Austrian Academy of Sciences had secretly stopped awarding the Grillparzer Award, a prize for dramatists in the name of Austrian national poet Franz Grillparzer
Franz Grillparzer
Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer was an Austrian writer who is chiefly known for his dramas. He also wrote the oration for Ludwig van Beethoven's funeral.-Biography:...
, and he researched and documented the expansionistic endeavours of großdeutsch oriented Alfred Toepfer
Alfred Toepfer
Dr. Alfred Carl Toepfer was a German entrepreneur, owner of the company Toepfer International and founder of the Alfred Toepfer Foundation...
and his close ties to Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
Starting in 1994 Michelides changed his focus to human rights activism and the defence of minorities. In June 1995 he founded the first International Human Rights Tribunal
International Human Rights Tribunal
The International Human Rights Tribunal took place in Vienna in June of 1995. It was chaired by environmental and human rights activist Freda Meissner-Blau and Gerhard Oberschlick, editor of FORVM, and was dedicated to the persecution of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons in...
in Vienna. Michelides served as an attorney general
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
. The theme of the tribunal was the discrimination and persecution of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender-persons in Austria during the period from 1945 to 1995.
Michelides was the founder of the initiative Häfn human, that counselled and visited prison inmates
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
, he fought against discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
of people with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
und AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
and participated in grassroot organisations like Club Plus, Selfhelp Vienna and Social Work from underneath. From 1995 to 1997 Michelides chaired the Austrian Lesbian and Gay Forum
Österreichisches Lesben- und Schwulenforum
The Austrian Lesbian and Gay Forum , in German: Österreichisches Lesben- und Schwulenforum , was the driving force in Austria's LGBT movement in the 1990s and has founded Austria's only CSD parade, called Regenbogenparade, on Vienna's Ringstrasse in 1996.The term ALGF/ÖLSF stands for both an annual...
(ÖLSF) and was one of the driving forces behind Austria's first LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
parade, called Regenbogenparade. In 1998 he started his social work for the homeless.
In 2000 Michelides founded Lighthouse Wien, a shelter for homeless drug addicts with severe trauma
Trauma
Trauma can refer to:-In psychology and medicine:* Trauma , an often serious and body-altering physical injury, such as the removal of a limb...
s, many of them HIV-positive. In 2002 he was graduated as a Sex and Mental Health Counselor
Mental Health Counselor
Mental health counselors practice mental health counseling which is a dynamic, holistic, strengths-based and psychoeducational discipline born in the late 1970s when several mental health professionals realized that the master’s degree level counselors working in community settings lacked a...
, in 2010 he completed his education as a group analyst and a psychotherapist.
Publications
- (ed.) Wiener Blut '83: Eine Gesellschaftskomödie mit Paten und Kindern. Published by Michelides. Vienna 1983.
- (ed.) Marcus Leatherdale. With texts by Kathy AckerKathy AckerKathy Acker was an American experimental novelist, punk poet, playwright, essayist, postmodernist and sex-positive feminist writer. She was strongly influenced by the Black Mountain School, William S...
and Christian Michelides. Published by Studio Molotov, Vienna 1983. - (ed.) Fotografie '83. Austria's first photography art fair. Published by Michelides, Vienna 1983.
- (ed.) Lothar Rübelt: Das Geheimnis des Moments. [The Secret of the Moment], exhibition at AlbertinaAlbertinaThe Albertina is a museum in Vienna, Austria, containing the world's best collection of old master prints and drawings.Albertina, a feminine adjectival form of Albert , may also refer to:...
, published by Michelides Vienna 1985 - (ed.) Memorandum über die Stiftungen des Alfred C. Toepfer und deren Zusammenarbeit mit der Universität Wien. Vienna 1991, 3rd edition