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In connection with the IKOB - Feminist Art Prize 2022, IKOB is pleased to present a roundtable discussion with representatives of queer and feminist advocacy groups active in the cultural fields of three countries: Melissa Mabesoone for Engagement (Belgium), Katharina Klapdor Ben Salem representing And She Was Like: BÄM! (Germany), and Aynouk Tan, co-founder of Queer is not a Manifesto (The Netherlands).

While the prize exhibition itself engages with feminist themes through the artworks of finalists Daniela Bershan, Jieun Lim, Sandrine Morgante, Marnie Slater, Céline Vahsen, and Puck Verkade, it is also an attempt to counter the structural inequalities of the contemporary art world that continue to put women and queer people at a disadvantage, or otherwise tokenizes their work and presence.

In this crossborder exchange of three organizations who each have a different focus and way of working, we discuss tangible strategies that artists, institutions and cultural workers can use to support marginalized voices, create inclusive environments and push back against discrimination. What changes, both small and radical can we envision together? How to push back against oppressive structures and power dynamics? This event provides space for the organizations to exchange ideas, strategies and challenges, followed by a discussion with the audience.

Everyone is welcome to join and to participate! This event is free to attend, will be in English and takes place online via Zoom. Sign up via Eventbrite here.

About the speakers:

ENGAGEMENT is an artist-led movement tackling sexual harassment, sexism and abuse of power in the Belgian arts field. The movement was formed in the wake of #MeToo (2017) after countless instances of sexual harassment came to light in the Belgian dance community. Since then, ENGAGEMENT has transformed into an organised platform active across all artistic disciplines, doing work in the professional as well as the educational sphere. As a low-threshold, peer-to-peer initiative, ENGAGEMENT offers support to individuals and communities facing transgressive behaviour, discrimination and/or unfair practices in the arts. engagementarts.be

Speaker: Melissa Mabesoone is an artist, actor and director, exploring the boundaries between the public and the private and the banal as political entity: in exhibitions, performative interventions or textual works, at OT301, Sale Docks, M HKA, Verbeke Foundation, nY magazine. She is developing a fiction film on shrimp reproduction. Together with Oshin Albrecht she founded the collective buren in 2012. With their work they channel humorous, imaginative and critical realities with a strong visual and musical drive. They are part of the European performance network APAP – Feminist Futures and in 2023 they will be house resident at Kaaitheater for minimum 3 years.

Queer is not a Manifesto is a grassroots organization that centers BIPOCᕯ queer and fluid identities through activist practices. Queer is not a Manifesto is based in Amsterdam and does artistic direction, (event)production, coördination, communication and PR in order to push the queer agenda on queer terms. They use tools like a radical access plan and safe(r) spaces policies to actively counter colonial narratives as well as sexism, racism, ableism, gender classification, transfobia and othering. instagram.com/queer_is_not_a_manifesto/
ᕯ Black, indigenous, People of Color

Speaker: Aynouk Tan is co-founder of Queer is not a Manifesto, they are also active as a journalist, curator, lecturer and advisor specialized in the relationship between appearance and identity politics. Tan is also an advisor at the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK) and jury member for the Dutch Design Awards, category Young Designer.

And She Was Like: BÄM! is an initiative based in Cologne, Germany directed towards women, queer, non-binary and transgender people, standing for an intersectional, diverse feminism that connects across genders in the field of art and design. BÄM! advocates for free access to education, financial independence and an environment of solidarity. This commitment is inextricably linked to an anti-racist, decolonial stance. By organising evening classes, roundtables, publications and talks, BÄM! creates formats that sustainably build networks to make FLINTA (Female, Lesbian, Intersex, Trans and Agender people) visible and to take action together. andshewaslikebam.de

Speaker: Katharina Klapdor Ben Salem is a cultural anthropologist working in Cologne as a curator, dramaturg, moderator and manager for the production of art and culture. Her focus is on working for and designing projects that advocate for the recognition of diversity in society. With many experiences in the field of exhibitions, she most recently worked as production manager/dramaturg for CircusDanceFestival and as project manager at ArtAsyl. Since September 2021 she has been on parental leave.

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