"Come a little closer and see me for who I am".
Creative platforms for creators from the queer community are not a given in the province of Limburg (The Netherlands). Leading up to the annual Afterparty of FASHIONCLASH Festival, FASHIONCLASH organized a series of workshops in 2024 where participants could work on an outfit and learn 'moves' from dancers. Under the guidance of fashion designers and choreographers, participants were challenged to create a living statue of themselves and play with their alter ego.
'Queer Stories' is part of FASHIONCLASH's Queer Activity program that creates more visibility for and draws attention to the Limburg queer community. In 2024, FASHIONCLASH collected stories from this community and shared them on ons.limburgsmuseum.nl, the online storytelling platform of Limburgs Museum.
đ„ Sem Dumont for Opulence Films
đ The Masters, Dans- en Partycentrum Bernaards, Maastricht (NL)
The concept for the Afterparty is created in collaboration with Samuel Valor Reyes and supported by Fonds 21, Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie, Provincie Limburg, Gemeente Maastricht, and Limburgs Museum.
Orlando: The New Chapter
Orlando: The New Chapter is a research project inspired by Virginia Woolf's iconic novel âOrlandoâ, brought to life by second-year students from the Performance course at the Toneelacademie Maastricht.
As part of the FASHIONCLASH Queer Activity Program, this collaboration invited the students to engage with themes such as gender, transformation, biography, and identity through a contemporary lens. The central questions posed to the students include: What would Orlando do in todayâs society? What commitments would the character make, and in what context? In simpler terms, What if Woolf's novel had a new chapter, and you were the one to write it?
The original novel âOrlandoâ tells the story of a poet who changes gender from man to woman and lives for centuries. It's a poetic meditation on themes such as gender, sex, time, love, and the human experienceâperfectly aligned with the exploration of queer themes in contemporary art.
The project culminated in a joint presentation of short individual performances, where each student presented their personal artistic investigationsâunique theatrical translations of a new chapter for Orlando. These performances explored the figure of Orlando in a modern context, reflecting on how gender and identity evolve in the world today.
Photos: Mitch van Schijndel
Participating students: Anna Lauryssen, Doris Wennekers, Eerin Middelkamp, Ida Boxem, Kees Huisman, Laisy Soleny de Andrade Rodrigues, Lize Kater, Lois Vecchi, Nomi Vanhove, Rens den Braber, Valerie Ludwig
Guidance: Branko Popovic (FASHIONCLASH), Bart van den Eynde (Toneelacademie Maastricht)
Orlando: The New Chapter is a cooperation between Toneelacademie Maastricht and FASHIONCLASH and was presented at Mariastraat 13 during FASHIONCLASH Festival 2024. Orlando: The New Chapter is part of the FASHIONCLASH Queer Activity Program and was made possible with support from Fonds 21 - Queer Up!
Queer Fashion Film at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2024
As part of the Queer Activity Program FASHIONCLASH dedicated extra attention to filmmakers whose work integrates queer narratives into their artistic practices.
The Fashion Film Program was held at LumiĂšre Cinema and highlighted the works of emerging filmmakers and artists who address queer narratives in cinema and moving image.
Fashion film has become an essential format for designers and brands to present their aesthetics and ethics, and in todayâs multimedia age, it offers a growing way to capture stories and engage broad audiences through online platforms and media. Fashion film, as a genre, lends itself exceptionally well to portraying social issues, such as queer themes, by combining visual storytelling with the power of fashion to express complex identities and challenge societal norms.
This yearâs program featured a selection of short fashion films that explored queer themes, showcasing the power of fashion film as a medium for self-expression and storytelling.
Photos: Stills from short fashion films: The Back Yard, The alter ego and ZÌOÌĆCÌ
Highlighting filmmaker Hadi Moussally
One of the program's key highlights was a special focus on Lebanese-French filmmaker Hadi Moussally. Moussally has built an impressive portfolio of short films where queer themes are central. His unique approach to fashion film explores identity, gender, and cultural boundaries, with a strong emphasis on Arab queer perspectives, an often overlooked subject. Moussally has also developed an alter ego, Salma Zahore, to further delve into the underrepresented world of Arab queer narratives through film and performance.
The decision to focus on Hadi Moussally's work and the Arab queer perspective resonated deeply with audiences, especially in light of current global events. In an inspiring moment during the festival, the FASHIONCLASH Festival 2024 Fashion Film Award âa 1000 euro prizeâwas awarded to Moussallyâs film Shame (ŰčÙŰš), which explores questions of cultural identity, masculinity, femininity, and religious roles. As Moussally reflects in an interview with FashionUnited, âWhat is culture? What is masculinity? What is femininity? What is religious?â His work challenges the narrow view of Arab identity and pushes boundaries in exploring what it means to be oneself in a society that tries to define you. As a queer Arab, Moussally feels a responsibility to raise his voice and provide representation: âIn Europe, where some politicians fuel anti-Muslim rhetoric, representation is crucial.â
Looking forward, FASHIONCLASH will continue its collaboration with Fashion in Flux , with a special film program planned for Thursday 6 February 2025, at Nieuwe Instituut as part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) fringe program. This event will feature films related to Moussallyâs work, with a continued focus on the queer perspective as a central theme.
Photos: Laura Knipsael
Screening of Queendom
A pre-festival screening of the outstanding documentary Queendom was held on the evening of Thursday, November 14. The film follows Gena, a 21-year-old Russian non-binary performance artist, and served as the perfect introduction to the festival, with a focus on queer creators and narratives. Following the screening, a Zoom Q&A with the filmmakers offered further insight into the making of the film and its cultural impact.
Still of Queendom
Through the Queer Fashion Film Program, FASHIONCLASH Festival not only celebrated the creative power of fashion film but also reinforced its commitment to promoting diverse, inclusive narratives that challenge societal norms and empower marginalized voices.
Recap of Talk: Queer-driven Art Practices
On Monday the 6th of May, FASHIONCLASH organised a Talk in collaboration with the Toneelacademie Maastricht about queer-driven art practices as a kick-off of the âFASHIONCLASH Queer Activity programâ.
The Talk included a keynote lecture by Aynouk Tan, followed by interviews with Florian Myjer and Samuel Valor Reyes. The Talk was moderated by Mara van Nes. Participants varied between graduate students from the Toneelacademie, the FASHIONCLASH team, and guests who are interested in learning more on the topic. The Talk began with a lecture given by Aynouk Tan, a writer, curator, moderator, advisor, and public speaker in the field of gender, decolonization and (queer) identity and appearance.
The Talk opened with two main questions directed to the audience: âwho is queer?â and âwho uses queer in their work?â After the audience raised their hands, Aynouk claimed that âQueerness is a big part of who I amâ, hence the interest in learning what other people, especially students, think about it. One of the studentsâ answers particularly caught Aynoukâs attention when they noted that these are quite difficult questions to answer, since the meaning of the word queer is still unclear to many. âQueerness is a great word, because it has different meanings to different peopleâ Aynouk replies. They explained their idea of queerness and how we as human beings have the power to unpack the four notions (gender, sexuality, expression, and sex) that we have learned in this normative Western society.
Aynouk challenges these four notions by playing with expression and dressing themselves in different ways to see how they feel inside. They strongly believe that âgender is a spectrumâ and there are so many different identities that still need to be found in society.
Following the lecture, Florian and Samuelâs interviews focused on how they use queerness in their work, and the importance of being part of a community. To the question âdo you identify as queer makers?â Florian reacts âI am on a mission to change the narrative and I do it through my performancesâ. On the other hand, Samuel aims at letting their performers choose what narrative they want their bodies to tell. They go on by saying âHow I work is, I make different identities visible on stageâ. Furthermore, Florianâs main goal is to address topics that are often not discussed enough, such as queerness in their performances. They are looking forward to the next step in queer art, and what they refer to as âthe ultimate dialogueâ in which all the intersections are going into dialogue with each other. In line with this, Samuel stresses the importance of focusing on rural areas and cities that are not queer driven yet.
Overall, the Talk: Queer Driven Art Practices proved to be a great and captivating discussion about what queerness is and what it means to be a queer maker. Through this Talk, FASHIONCLASH aimed at raising interesting questions about queerness and opening new conversations on other topics and sub-topics such as this one.
Words: Martina Bardelli
Photos: Evelyn Luo
Talk: Queer-driven Art Practices
Are you interested to hear more about queer-driven art practices? In collaboration with Toneelacademie Maastricht we host a Talk, as a kick-off of the FASHIONCLASH Queer Activity Program.
The Talk includes a keynote lecture by Aynouk Tan, followed by interviews with Florian Myjer and Samuel Valor Reyes. The Talk will be moderated by Mara van Nes.
Entrance is free, but due to limited seats we kindly ask you to sign up in advance via the form below.
You can no longer sign up for this event
Practical information
Date: Monday 6 May 2024
Location: Toneelacademie Maastricht, Lenculenstraat 31-33
Time: 19:00 â 20:30 (doors open 18:30)
Language: English
Speakers
Aynouk Tan (she/them) is a writer, curator, moderator, advisor and public speaker in the field of gender, decolonization and (queer) identity and appearance. In the cultural sector they work as a curator of exhibitions and is responsible for putting together public programs. In the corporate sector they work as a trainer Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). In the public sector they are a policy advisor on LGBTQI+ safety. Tan was one of the founders of Amsterdam's 'Queer Pride'. They currently the director of the Queer is not a Manifesto Foundation, an advisor at the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts and Fonds 21 and jury member for the Dutch Design Awards.
Florian Myjer (Amsterdam, 1992) is a theater maker and actor. He makes artistically challenging and personal adaptations of classics from world literature.
After graduating from the performance course at the Toneelacademie Maastricht in 2017, Florian became a permanent maker at Frascati Producties (2017-2021). Here he created the performances âOliverâ (TAZ - De Grote Post Residentieprijs 2018), âRegina Rexâ (nomination BNG Theaterprijs 2018) and âYves Saint Laurentâ. With Kim Karssen he made âBloomsbury, Oorlog en Vredeâ (nomination BNG Theaterprijs 2021) and âMephisto Parkâ. From 2021 to 2024, Florian was in the artistic direction of Theatergroep De Warme Winkel, where he created the performances âLady Chatterley's Loverâ (Nederlands Theaterfestival selection 2022), âMann Mann Mannâ and âBrideshead Revisitedâ. As an actor, Florian was seen in performances by Theater Oostpool and Theater Artemis. For his role in the film âSweet Dreamsâ (also the Dutch Oscar entry) he was awarded a Gouden Kalf for Best Supporting Role. In 2024, Florian left De Warme Winkel to continue his individual theater practice.
Aynouk Tan, Photo: Linda Eetleven
Florian Myjer
Samuel Valor Reyes (1996, he/him â they/them) is a theater maker (Toneelacademie Maastricht) and performance artist of Spanish origin. In his work bodies and how he communicates always play a leading role. In movements he creates he wants to cause electricity, disruption and joy.
Samuel always starts from clashing or blending crossovers in which image, formality and meaning come together. His work tests the limits of a space in relation to people. The result is an absurd, colorful world in which the search for connection, empowerment, queerness, identity, rituals and jumping and falling bodies are central.
FASHIONCLASH and Samuel Valor Reyes collaborate since 2023 within the framework of the Afterparty project. Samuel responsible for the overall direction of the Afterparty including curation of the performers.
Mara van Nes (1993) is a theater maker, program maker and moderator. She specializes in social-artistic work and conversation as a work of art. In her practice she often works with a combination of art professionals and amateurs, or cross-disciplinary with specialists from the social domain.
The encounter, the experience and the dialogue are central to her work. Rituals play an important role in this because, for her, shaping a gathering has a direct influence on its substantive qualities. This means that attention is needed not only for What is being said, but also for How we are relating to each other.