{"id":1943,"date":"2017-12-01T19:19:27","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T17:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/howtogoon.com\/?page_id=1943"},"modified":"2023-05-05T12:28:04","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T10:28:04","slug":"latest-news","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/howtogoon.com\/index.php\/latest-news\/","title":{"rendered":"LATEST NEWS!"},"content":{"rendered":"

ONGOING GRATITUDE<\/strong> to the MONDRIAAN FUND \"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>, the AMSTERDAM FUND for the ARTS \"\"<\/a>, CBK-Zuidoost \"\"<\/a>
\nand Stichting Stokroos for their generous support!
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\n2023, 28 February
\nMUSEUM ARNHEM<\/strong>
\nVery happy that two videos from my series The Prostitution Monologues<\/strong><\/em><\/a> have been included in this exhibition of paintings by Hans Baluschek and Carel Willink at Museum Arnhem<\/strong><\/a> [click for link]<\/a> until JUNE 28th 2023.
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\nPainting by Hans Baluschek2022, 24 March
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\nWORK IN PROGRESS<\/strong>
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\nBeen working with my mum (!) on a new project to be called Up In Smoke<\/em> which links contemporary misogynist \u2018incel\u2019* violence to historical practices of the persecution of women as witches.
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\nAt the centre of the installation will be a bonfire-heap. Above it hangs a cloud of \u2018smoke\u2019 consisting of 365 tiny porcelain objects made in collaboration with my 85-year old mother \u2013 a contemporary witch-figure who lives an unconventional life with her animals, her knowledge of plants, and her feminist socialist ideals.
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\nThese objects represent all that has been lost to the flames of misogyny \u2013 women\u2019s knowledge and skills, women\u2019s ways of working collectively \u2013 both historical loss as well as more contemporary, metaphoric or personal loss. From within the bonfire, come voices from various incel groups \u2013 angry, bitter derogatory voices extolling violence against women \u2013 voices that keep the fires of misogyny burning.
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\n*Incel (involuntary-celibate): young men who consider themselves unable to attract women sexually, typically characterised by resentment and hatred, misogyny, racism, a sense of entitlement to sex, and the endorsement of violence against women.
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\n* Witch-hunt: witch hunts varied enormously in place and time, but they were united by a common and coherent world view, part of a broader hostility toward, and persecution of, marginalised groups.<\/em>
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\nMore soon!
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\n2020, 18 September
\nCORONA BREAK<\/strong>
\nNo, I don\u2019t (yet) have Covid-19, but the pandemic has drastically slowed down my art practice, so taking a moment to reflect. Hope to be Back Soon – and with a NEW WEBSITE. Watch this space!
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\n2020, 13 August
\nNOOIT MEER SLAPEN – VPRO RADIO<\/strong>
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\nClick on the image to listen to the podcast of last night’s hour long interview (in Dutch) on VPRO radio programme Nooit Meer Slapen (Never Sleep Again). Liesbeth Staats talks with me about my work.
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\n2020, 18 July
\nCHECK IT OUT<\/strong>
\nCheck out a preview of my most recent book A Small Collection of Innocuous Objects<\/strong> here on ISSUU<\/a> \"\"<\/a>
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\n2020, 20 April
\nPHEW!<\/strong>
\nWell, that was more tricky than I’d expected… So many letters that I ended up piecing together tiny scraps of material to make enough background for them… took longer than I expected. Now this second corona banner has replaced the first, and I’m hoping to put that original one up in a new location tomorrow.
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\nThe Latin text is from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, (though possibly is has prior connotations), it seem a fitting comment on these strange times, and more so because of its relationship to that book.
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\n2020, 11 April
\n2nd CORONA BANNER<\/strong>
\nStarted on the second Corona Banner.
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\nThe first meanwhile has found a temporary location until I can move it onto a busy road.
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\n2020, 9 April
\nSIEZE THE MOMENT<\/strong>
\nFirst banner is done. Now have to find the best place to hang it…
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\n2020, 7 April
\nBANNER NR.1<\/strong>
\nThe DIY shops only delivering essential items… So far nothing I ‘need’ has been available (no seeds, garden fork, bag of cement, window blinds! – what does <\/em>count as essential?) But luckily it was still possible to get a sewing machine online… it arrived this afternoon.
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\nSo starting to make a first banner. Using old curtains and scarves because the trusted (and essential!) charity shop is closed too!
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\n2020, 28 March
\nART in TIMES of CORONA<\/strong>
\nStrange times\u2026 busy dealing with practicalities.
\nHere’s an appropriately surreal comment left in the debating room at the Nr.1 Tourist Attraction installation (which deals with the topic of prostitution)…
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\nNormal service will resume shortly\u2026
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\n2020, 19 March
\nMEANWHILE…<\/strong>
\nBusy trying to get a subsidy application written\u2026 Meanwhile, here are some of the (nice) comments visitors to Nr.1 Tourist Attraction left.
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\n2020, 9 March
\nUPHEAVAL<\/strong>
\nClearing everything out of my studio to allow for work on the foundations!
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\nA massive job \u2013 I have been here for 35 years \u2013 so time for a clear out! I\u2019m probably going to miss some of the cosy clutter…
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\n2020, 2 March
\nEND of TOURIST ATTRACTION<\/strong>
\nIf only\u2026! But it is the end of Nr.1 Tourist Attraction in the Amsterdam Museum. The last few days were fantastically busy and he visitors were keen to engage in conversation with one another and with me.
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\nSad to be packing everything up, but super pleased with the discussions that have been generated! A huge \u2018Thank you!\u2019 to everyone who participated or supported this project in some way.
\nIn random order: Anonymous, Hannah Manneke, Jo Lewington, Jolanda de Boer, Marit van der Meer & Victor Levie, Adriaan Krabbendam, Hens van Rooij, Wiro Felix, Huip van Dijk, Martijn Grunwald, Ch\u00e9rif Zaouali, Eli Thorne, Daniel Rovai, William Sutton, Tara Margo van Bavel, Harmony Chaikin, Flint Louis Hignett, Markha Valenta, Jiyan D\u00fcy\u00fc, Easy May Walker, Ella de Rijke, Pippa Collin, Polly Perkins, Joep Meilof, Tex Fonds, Alice Pons, Olivia Reschovsky, Matthew Carney, Thom Driver, Rosie Heinrich, Quinten Damen, Paulo Moreno, Roos Steigenga, Celilia Mazza, Carlos Alberti, Sam Critchley, Simon Brod, Malte Wendt, Rob Vlaar, Pelle Vlaar, Rinus Tenk, Tom Marfo, Diego Bado, Rodrigo Alveniz, Becky Brod, the Netherlands Embassy in Albania, Ramon Coelho & Ruud de Bruyn, Renske de Jong & Annet Zondervan of CBK Zuidoost, Annemarie de Wildt, Margriet Schavemaker, Katherina Klockau & Joost van de Weerd of the Amsterdam Museum, Gertjan ten Thije from the Amsterdams Theaterhuis, and last but not least the Stokroos Foundation, Amsterdam Fund for the Arts and the Mondriaan Fund for their support\u2026.
\nThank you all!
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\n2020, 1 March
\nLOVE IT!<\/strong>
\nSweet intervention \u2013 Pippa attached this embroidery to a railing at the museum. Love it!
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\n2020, 28 February
\nLAST DAYS!<\/strong>
\nLast chance to see Nr.1 Tourist Attraction in the Amsterdam Museum\u2026 and to leave your comments in the visitors book! Several visitors have written that they think the installation is so important that it should be a permanent feature\u2026 Let\u2019s hope the museum picks up on that!
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\n2020, 27 February
\nSPOT ON!<\/strong>
\nCouldn\u2019t have said it better…
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\n2020, 26 February
\nSTANDING ROOM ONLY<\/strong>
\nThe debate we hosted in the Amsterdam Museum on Sunday, sparked by my exhibition and the cartoon in the Parool newspaper was full to the brim.
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\nOriginally Annemarie had hoped to invite everyone who was lampooned in the cartoon to join the debate, but the museum\u2019s hierarchy insisted that mayor Femke Halsema and other politicians not be invited. This was a pity because alongside myself and the cartoonist, two brave women from situations of prostitution, the other debate-duo slot was filled by two \u2018buurtbewoners\u2019 – neighbourhood residents \u2013 who kept reiterating their refusal to take a stand on the issue of prostitution and steering the debate in the direction of blaming the foreigners \u2013 both those selling sex as well as those sightseeing or buying sex, lambasting them for being the cause of all the trouble. The ex-policeman, who was clearly not up to date on either the discourse or pc-behaviour, referring nostalgically to a time when all the \u2018girls\u2019 were of Dutch origin and you could talk to them, and the whole neighbourhood looked out for one another. Particularly unfortunate that the moderator did not take any action to steer the discussion away form complaints about vomit in window-boxes and back to what it was supposed to be about, ie prostitution policy.
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\nOf course it\u2019s disturbing to find vomit or whatever at your doorstep, but this inconvenience, no matter how disgusting, is nothing compared to what the women trapped in the prostitution industry experience, and the \u2018buurtbewoners\u2019 insistence that the solution would be to move \u2018the problem\u2019 to a purpose-built location on the edge of the city was a sickening example of privileged \u2018out of sight, out of mind\u2019 thinking. And unfortunately, one which is not atypical of Dutch attitudes in general toward prostitution.
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\n2020, 13 February
\nDEBATE PROSTITUTION in AMSTERDAM<\/strong>
\nOn Sunday the 23rd of February there will be another discussion about prostitution in the Amsterdam Museum<\/a>, the last before my installion closes on March 1st. Don’t miss it! (More info under the photo.)
\nMeanwhile, here’s a to-the-point visitor quote from the museum’s ‘Debate Room’…
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\nThe debate will be chaired by Elisa Hermanides, journalist with Trouw newspaper. We will be discussing the way that the debate around the Amsterdam Red Light District has developed, and the current situtaiton with the new Wet Regulering Sekswerk (Law Regualting Sex Work). We will also talk about how a city museum can \u2018collect\u2019 pertinant debates such as this one, and how it could shed light on several aspects of such a debate.
\nParticipating will be me, Jimini Hignett, and Maia Matches who drew the abusive cartoon recently in the Parool, as well as several other people portrayed in that cartoon: Els Iping, local politician, Joep de Groot, who for years was a policeman at the Warmoesstraat station (in the red light district), \u2018sex worker\u2019, activist and lawyer Niki, and ex-\u2019sex worker\u2019 Sally.
\nCLICK HERE for the FB-event with info.<\/a>
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2020, 5 February
\nBLOG for FiLia<\/strong>
\nResponding for the first time online to the various reactions to my exhibition from the pro-sex-work lobby… FiLia asked me to write a blog post for their site which I have just finished. You can read it by clicking here.<\/a>
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\nQuote from the visitors book at the installation:
\n\u2018I am so happy this artist is showing the misogyny \u2018sex work\u2019 is. To show women in windows as objects, this is showing how not emancipated the Netherlands are. Buying the consent of this women who are forced by men or by poverty or by traumas\u2026 this is the shame of our city. Please let us stop to romanticize this rape culture and give these women the power over their own body and sexuality back.\u2019 – x Bill
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2019, 12 December
\nPatricia’s Sunday Night LIVE<\/strong>
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\nI\u2019ll be a guest on Patricia\u2019s Sunday Night Live radio programme on Salto, local Amsterdam radio, on Sunday Decemeber 15th at 9pm. Talking about my installation Nr.1 Tourist Attraction in the Amsterdam Museum<\/a>, and what inspires and drives me in my activist-artist practice. It will be in Dutch. If anyone wants to tune in live, here\u2019s the link https:\/\/www.salto.nl\/stadsfm\/<\/a>
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\n2019, 27 November
\nPOLISH NEWS<\/strong>
\nA Polish news site in the Netherlands has published an article about my exhibition in the Amsterdam Museum. Click here for the link.<\/a> \"\"
\nHere’s what Gggle makes of the Polish:
\n“What’s behind attraction # 1 in the Netherlands? Red Light District – prostitution, violence, human trafficking<\/p>\n

It’s almost a must on the tourist map of Amsterdam. The Red Light District. A paradise for lovers of sex entertainment, a curiosity for tourists. And in the background – prostitution, violence, fear, exploitation and human trafficking.<\/p>\n

An attraction with the taste of forbidden fruit in the center of the capital of the Netherlands. Medieval De Wallen, with narrow streets, crossed by canals. Illuminated with thousands of red lanterns and neon lights at night.<\/p>\n

Hence the name – Red Light District. Tourist attraction number one Amsterdam. A must-see for every foreign trip. About 2.5 million tourists come here every year.<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes of this tempting world in which male prostitutes have recently appeared, in addition to women, we prefer not to look. Because there is violence, ruthless exploitation, fear, despair. And human trafficking.<\/p>\n

(We wrote about this dramatic phenomenon in the article The Netherlands: Human Trafficking – it’s worse than you think)<\/p>\n

Dark side of attraction 1
\nFrom November 1, 2019 at the Amsterdam Museum you can see the exhibition of the artist Jimini Hignett under this name \u2013 “Nr.1 Tourist Attraction”. The creator takes us back to the Red Light District. Unsparingly and without mercy.<\/p>\n

The exhibition is a kind of artistic installation, consisting of films, unique self-portraits of sex industry employees, souvenirs that we can buy at De Wallen.<\/p>\n

Hignett talks about exploitation, hypocrisy, double standards and human trafficking.<\/p>\n

Souvenirs and confidences of prostitutes
\nIf you look at the exhibition, you’ll see about 200 items – souvenirs that every tourist can buy in the Red Light District. Of course, connected with the erotic industry.<\/p>\n

And all the symbols of prostitution and sex – literally or not – are smoothly woven into the traditional souvenirs, which we usually bring from the Netherlands. Clogs combined with giant phalluses, and nude women with bottle openers and windmills.<\/p>\n

Right next to the video installations. Authentic confessions told by actors, testimonies of women (and one man) practicing prostitution in the Red Light District. How did they find themselves in this “industry”? What led them to De Wallen? What kind of life is this – being an object for use standing in a window?<\/p>\n

The artist painted each of the people he talked to with special portraits. On paper, gray bags applied to the heads. Rather, they resemble medieval hoods of convicts or instruments of torture. Symbols of something that we are afraid to name.<\/p>\n

It is a provocative, not easy (contrary to appearances), liberating difficult emotions exhibition. In this way, the Red Light District has not yet been shown.”<\/p>\n

Practical information
\nthe exhibition at the Amsterdam Museum will last until March 1, 2020.
\naddress: Amsterdam, Kalverstraat 92
\nopen daily from 10.00 to 17.00
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2019, 20 November
\nBOYCOT<\/strong>
\nDespite the call to boycot the Amsterdam Museum for showing my installation Nr.1 Tourist Attraction<\/em> there are still a nice lot of visitors going to see the exhibit – on until March 1st 2020.
\nUntil I make the separate page for this project, here are a few pictures…
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\n2019, 18 November
\nNEWSWORTHY!<\/strong>
\nAnd on it goes\u2026 there is even a film on Youtube protesting the my installation in the Amstedam Museum and calling for a boycot! Interesting to note that of all the people that have something to say, it would seem that none of them are actually working as \u2018sex workers\u2019, in the specific prostitution sense of the word\u2026 Make what you will of that…
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\nThe whole topic is an incredibly important one which requires discussion on a deep and serious level, and there is a plethora of information out there which can all go to support my views on the topic of ” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>Nordic Law<\/a> versus decriminalisation. For those interested learning more on those views you could read this interview<\/a>, or simply buy a copy of A Small Collection of Innocuous Objects<\/em> (see Books page<\/a>). then, for the information that formed those views, you can click your way through the links in the footnotes (!) If you prefer a shortcut, just go straight to nordicmodelnow.org <\/a>
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\n2019, 15 November
\nARTIST\/ACTIVIST<\/strong>
\nIn order to encourage debate on the topic, the museum is developing a programme which includes different points of view on the subject of the sex industry, prostitution and legislation.
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\nThe first event programmed was yesterday \u2013 Artist\/Activist. The auditorium was filled, with people at the back having to stand as there were no more seats. On the panel along with myself were Patricia Kaersenhout, Matthijs de Bruijne, Elke Uitentuis and Quirine Lengkeek.
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\n(Photo credit Facebook page Annemarie de Wildt)
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\nFollowing Annemarie de Wildt\u2019s lecture on the history of fine art imagery of prostitution, attendees went to view the installation before returning to the auditorium for the debate on Artist\/Activist.
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\n(Photo credit Facebook page Annemarie de Wildt)
\nA number of people involved with the sex industry were quite vociferously present and it was not long before the debate became focussed on the issue of prostitution legislation. The discussion was very heated, but (thanks to Margriet Schavemaker\u2019s strict moderation) remained reasonably polite. Afterwards they set up a chant of Human Rights are Sex Workers\u2019 Rights \u2013 couldn\u2019t agree more! In fact, when the debate dissolved into smaller groups, opposing parties managed to agree on quite some of their aims, despite their differences.
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\n2019, 9 November
\nONGOING PROTEST<\/strong>
\nApparently one or two die-hards are continuing to protest outside the museum.
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\n(Photo credit Facebook page of Alexis Wilson Briggs)
\nIf only all this energy could be spend campaigning for something really worthwhile\u2026 Like trying to get all the councils in the Netherlands that have a prostitution policy in place to also instigate programmes to enable those who want to exit\u2026
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\n2019, 3 November
\nAIR at CBK ZO<\/strong>
\nMuseum Night at CBK Zuidoost with the opening of the annual AIR group exhibition<\/a>.
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\nThe other artists in the exhibition are: Ephrem Solomon Tegegn (Ethopie), Maga Berr (Peru\/NL), Lebohang Tlali (ZA), Valerie van Leersum (NL), Sander Troelstra (NL) and Hili Greenfeld (ISR)
\nI was invited to give an artists talk about my series of Prostitution Monologues, great that so many people stayed until almost midnight to hear it.
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\n2019, 1 November
\nNr.1 TOURIST ATTRACTION!<\/strong>
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\nWhat a lovely evening yesterday\u2019s opening was. Here are a few photos, (mainly of the visitors not of the work!)
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\nThank you to everyone who came.
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\nAnd special thanks to Jolanda de Boer who gave a speech and Sally who came from far to receive the first Dutch copy of my new book.
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\nMy mum got the first English one, which made her cry, aaaah.
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\nThen she and Elise manned the sales table….You can see where I get my cheeky grin from!
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\n2019, 30 October
\nA SMALL COLLECTION OF INNOCUOUS OBJECTS<\/strong>
\nMy new book, A Small Collection of Innocuous Objects<\/em>, has arrived on time to accompany the exhibition Nr. 1 Tourist Attraction<\/a><\/strong> in the Amsterdam Museum. \"\"
\nIt\u2019s available in English or in Dutch (Een kleine verzameling onschadelijke objecten<\/em>). As well as the collection of souvenirs from the Amsterdam Red Light District, it has the stories of eight survivors of prostitution in the Netherlands.
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\nThe wonderful design was done by Marit van de Meer<\/a>.
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\nThe exhibtion is open from November 1st and runs until the end of February 2020.
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\nTo order a copy of the book please go to BOOKS<\/a><\/em>.
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\n2019, 29 October
\nCOUNTDOWN<\/strong>
\nCounting down\u2026 only a few days to go until the opening. Friday was a moment of panic as it seemed as though all 13 screens would have to be switched on by hand, not only first thing in the morning but every 4 hours, which would have been impossible\u2026 Luckily, this morning everything had switched itself on \u2013 phew!
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\nMy mum and Elise are here from the UK and were set straight to work tie-ribbing all the postcards to their racks so that people don\u2019t think they\u2019re there for the taking.
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\n2019, 28 October
\nBYE BYE BELLE<\/strong>
\nUnfortunately the responses concerning my work Belle Revisited, a sculpture carved from a huge tree trunk which was inspired by the tiny bronze statue of Belle on the Oudekerksplein threatened to overshadow any larger debate concerning prostitution in general and Dutch legislation in particular. This discussion became so heated that, together with the museum, I decided that it would be better to not include the sculpture in the installation, in order to avoid the debate being derailed.
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\nThe consternation came from people connected with the sex industry who understood that my point of view was in favour of the Nordic Model<\/a> (possibly because of the online interview<\/a> I did in Kosovo).
\nThe information about the installation which was on the museum\u2019s site prior to the opening, was so brief that it was possible for them to (wilfully?) misinterpret my intentions with the sculpture, and, in an attempt to get the museum to close down the whole exhibit, they insisted that Belle Revisited is an incitement to violence against sex workers. Of course it isn\u2019t! That\u2019s like saying that a film which shows a man beating his wife is an incitement to all men to beat their wives \u2013 precisely the opposite, by showing these images it is drawing attention to the harsh realities of what goes on behind closed doors. Having seen how tourists blythely snap selfies alongside the original statue<\/a> \u2013 which shows a strong, independent \u2018happy hooker\u2019 in a bronze doorway \u2013 taking away an image that for me shows only one side of the business, I wanted to get show something beneath that surface and to visualise the very real pain suffered by the real women on display in the real windows of the world\u2019s red light districts. I invited a number of people to carve a heart and\/or their initials into the body of the sculpture. The act of carving one\u2019s initials into her body conveying complicity in, (through our complacent acceptance of,) the pain that is inherent to the prostitution industry.
\nAnyway, after a lot of discussion we decided that the installation is strong enough without the inclusion of the sculpture, plus, her absence gives more space for the reading table and discussion corner \u2013 which at this rate we might well end up needing!
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\n2019, 26 October
\nSHOCKING…?<\/strong>
\nThe last few days have been very hectic, not simply because of getting this exhibition on the road but because since a couple of days ago members of the PIC and\/or PROUD have been targetting the Amsterdam Museum, CBK South-east, me (and possibly others) with emails trying to get the exhibition closed \u2013 even before it has opened!
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\nIn one sense it\u2019s great that they are so concerned about the effects that a work of art might have, on the other hand it\u2019s annoyingly time consuming to have to be worrying about carefully formulated answers to their online onslaught.
\nThey are even planning to pass the museum on opening night with a demonstration against the installation\u2026 Oh well, No such thing as bad publicity, as they say!
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\n2019, 23 October
\nLOOKING GOOD<\/strong>
\nAll the tv-screens have been hung up and all the vitrines are in place, and now I actually really like the mix-and-match aesthetic of the way that they now mirror the tied together socles…
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\nA happy accident \u2013 though I could have done without the stress of the mix-up!
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\n2019, 19 October
\nMISMATCHED!<\/strong>
\nThe vitrines and socles arrived yesterday, carefully selected (several times because of not up-to-date information) from the website of the place that stores all the museum\u2019s extra exhibition stuff\u2026 But when the stuff was unloaded from the lorry it turned out that almost nothing matched! The socles almost all too small, and the glass caps almost all huge \u2013 how am I supposed to fit an 80 x120cm glass cap onto a socle measuring 33 x 27cm! Panic\u2026
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\nSpent today figuring out how to solve the problem and came up with this genius idea (even if I say it myself) of binding the tiny socles together so that larger caps can fit onto them.
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\n2019, 18 October
\nSPRAYTIME<\/strong>
\nHoping my postacrds survive their spraying with fireproofing liquid…
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\n2019, 17 October
\nPAPER PLAN<\/strong>
\nSo\u2026 the videos are with the Museum\u2019s techie guy, and the book PDFs are off to the printer, everything bang on time! And now I have to concentrate on the installation of the work in the Amsterdam Museum. Making a plan, on the kitchen table, how to fit videos and vitrines into this long narrow space…
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\n2019, 16 October
\nSIN MUJERES…<\/strong>
\nPatricia Kaersenhout just gave me this lovely present, a little purse made by one of the female Zapatistas- Sin Mujeres No Hay Revolucion – Without Women there is no Revolution – damn right!
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\n2019, 14 October
\nSTERN WITNESSES<\/strong>
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\nSpent the best part of a day with Rose\u2019s help, fixing all the self-portrait masks to the rafters in the museum where they look down from on high sternly observing the whole process. I hope they are not displeased!
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\n2019, 13 October
\nSTOKROOS!<\/strong>
\nHurrah! Just heard from the Stokroos Foundation<\/a> that they are going to give some financial support to enable the production of my new book, <\/strong>A Small Collection of Innocuous Objects<\/strong>, that will be part of my installation, Nr. 1 tourist Attraction<\/a><\/em> which opens October 31st in the Amsterdam Museum.
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\n2019, 23 September
\nPROOF READING<\/strong>
\nTaking a \u2018break\u2019 (ha ha) from editing and subtitling videos to proofread the first complete PDF of the book design which Marit van de Meer has made. Note to self: a book in two languages doesn\u2019t just mean twice the printing costs, it also means twice the editing and proofreading!
\n\"\"
\nSorry for the crap photograph!<\/p>\n

.
\n2019, 20 September
\n44 Minutes!<\/strong>
\n\u2018Henry is edited, but oh dear\u2026 the first, already massively cut, version of \u2018Sally\u2019 is still 44 minutes!
\n\"\"
\nBack to the editing table…
\n.
\n2019, 8 September
\nCOMPLEX CHARACTER<\/strong>
\n\"\"
\nSpecial monologue recording today \u2013 the script is \u2018Henry\u2019, the only man I have so far interviewed who has is a survivor of trafficking into the Dutch sex industry.
\n\"\"
\nHe was sent to people\u2019s houses to have sex with white women, often blindfolded so that he could not see her face, whilst the husband looked on\u2026
\n\"\"
\nThe reason this monologue was not recorded earlier is because I could not imagine the right actor for this part. I didn\u2019t want to simply switch gender and skin colour, as we are so used to this being a woman\u2019s story I felt this would undermine the uniqueness of it.
\n\"\"
\nIn the end I asked my beautifully androgynous looking old friend Markha\u2026 she took a long time to think it over but in the end she decided she wanted to do it, and even managed to find time in her hugely busy agenda.
\n\"\"
\nThank you Markha!
\n.
\n2019, 3 September
\nBACK PAGE<\/strong>
\nIn all this writing and editing (I am on final version number six of the souvenir collection texts) I totally forgot that the back cover needs a text too\u2026 Add that to the Urgent list!
\n.
\n2019, 30 Augustus
\nRACE to the FINISH<\/strong>
\nRecorded \u2018Sally\u2019s story\u2019 with actor Eli Thorne\u2026
\n\"\"
\nGreat actor, happy I went with my intuition about him.
\n\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 16 August
\nCUT & PASTE<\/strong>
\nDetermined to get one last video made in time for the installation in the Amsterdam Museum\u2026 This one\u2019s a challenge, I interviewed Sally (not her real name) over a year ago, and the interview was eight-and-a-half hours long\u2026 the transcription \u2013 almost 59,000 words \u2013 has been ongoing in fits and starts since.
\n\"\"
\nJust started the work of editing it down to a script-seized text. Impossible to oversee in the computer so I have resorted to old-fashioned paper, scissors and sellotape cut and paste. Little piles of paper paragraphs, sorted by topic, covering the whole table. I have an actor in mind\u2026 I haven\u2019t met him, just seen videos. He has a curious face, somewhat elfin which can be innocent and cunning in equal measure. I\u2019ve put myself under pressure by booking the studio and him\u2026 though I still have to sort out the script!
\n.
\n2019, 7 August
\nENDLESS SUBTITLES<\/strong>
\nTrouble with more videos is that it means more editing, more translations and never-ending subtitles!
\n.
\n2019, 28 July
\nEDITING ZANDPAD<\/strong>
\nBeen editing Zandpad Revisited with Hens all this week\u2026 looking good!
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 18 July
\nSHOOTING<\/strong>
\nShooting the video of Zandpad Revisited yesterday, all went well. Cameraman, sound-man, catering, ten extras for carving.
\n\"\"
\nWe were lucky with the weather though the sun went behind the clouds a couple of times it stayed dry and more or less light. Very curious to see the results.
\nThe sculpture has now been delivered to the oxygen-free room so that she will be allowed into the museum. She has to stay there for a few weeks in order to kill off any lurking parasites!
\n.
\n2019, 8 July
\nCARVING<\/strong>
\nThe statue has been in the studio since the base got finished and people have been visiting for me to take pictures of their hands carving their initials.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 7 July
\nPHOTO STUDIO<\/strong>
\nSpend four whole days, non-stop taking photos of all the souvenirs on first a white, and then a black background for the book. Set up a huge roll of white paper, and then a black velvety cloth, and had to buy some special lighting.
\n\"\"
\nOf the 180 souvenirs about 80 will make it into the book and into the video\/slide show. Pffff, a huge job, but pleased with the almost professional looking results.
\n.
\n2019, 12 June
\nZANDPAD REVISITED<\/strong>
\nWent yesterday with cameraman Wiro Felix to check out the Zandpad again as filming location\u2026
\n\"\"
\nHe was not so happy with it as it\u2019s ugly (granted) and will be difficult to film circling around because of all the nasty industrial tanks in the background. Also, trees are going to cause difficulties with shadow if we are to work in the couple of hours before sundown. He has a great wee camera, really tiny, that can record onto his phone. The site as yet still unbuilt though it has been levelled and there are some skips lying about. Fingers crossed!
\n.
\n2019, 7 June
\nCHAINSAW GANG<\/strong>
\nEarly start to spend all day with Huip at his workshop to carve a new base for Belle Revisited\u2026
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nMore work than I had envisaged\u2026 (isn\u2019t it always!)
\n.
\n2019, 4 June
\nTOTALLY CRASS<\/strong>
\nThis T-shirt leaves me speechless…
\n\"\"
\n(Sorry about the bad photos, just using my phone…)
\n.
\n2019, 28 May
\nCAN’T RESIST!<\/strong>
\nAlthough I surely have enough souvenirs for the exhibition in November, I couldn’t resist these…
\n\"\"
\nThe brothel depicted on these tiles has an interesting name…. The word Lichtekooi most probably comes from the words meaning ‘lightly to berth’ as in easy to get to bed with, and was used to refer to the women. Still, it’s quite a humorous name for a brothel, if one is in the mood to find such things funny.
\n.
\n2019, 27 May
\nMOUSE MATS!<\/strong>
\n\"\"
\nMouse mat… That’s a first! The combination of texts, Red Light District and Dutch Girls makes a careless combination, making it sound like all Dutch girls are available.
\n.
\n2019, 24 May
\nADDICTIVE!<\/strong>
\nI suddenly understand the urge to collect things… nipping into souvenir shops to see if there is any choice item of tourist paraphernalia I had not yet come across is becoming addictive! Still it provides a very welcome excursion away form the computer where I am otherwise heads-down editing the five videos recorded at the beginning of the month.
\nHere are a couple of choice items…\"\"
\nHard to know if the designer is taking the Mickey with this one! Sunbathing on the blades of a windmill… In the Red Light District…?!
\n\"\"
\nGot the association right this time though with the phallic bollard… and these are either twins or else it’s a kind of before-and-after fridge magnet.
\n.
\n2019, 12 May
\nNEW ZANDPAD<\/strong>
\nOn the road all day yesterday scouting a location for the video I want to make showing people carving their initials into the wooden sculpture. Decided that context was more important than aesthetics and so went in search of a meaningful location. First stop was the G.J. de Jonghweg in Rotterdam, a \u2018toleration zone\u2019 for prostitution frequented mainly by drug addicted women, and where a serial murderer killed at least five.
\n\"\"
\nSecondly went to Nijmegen where there is one of the few remaining officially recognised zones for street prostitution is coupled with a so-called \u2018afwerkloods\u2019 \u2013 translates roughly as \u2018finishing-up shed\u2019 \u2013 an empty warehouse in which plywood partitions have been installed so that sex-buyers can drive in with their cars to \u2018finish up\u2019.
\n\"\"
\nThe signs outside, hung high on the walls presumably to avoid derogatory graffiti, explain that, other than police and health workers, entry is limited to \u201cstreet prostitutes and their customers\u201d. This is followed by instructions, \u201cDrive at walking pace and follow the driving direction. Park your car in the finishing-off area and switch off the engine. Deposit waste in the bin and leave the finishing-off area clean. In the shed it is forbidden to: shelter or take a break; use drugs or alcohol; sell drugs or other goods; cause (noise) nuisance.\u201d I hoped to find out who was in charge and to see if it would be possible, for a fee, to record the video actually in the garage, during the day when it was not in use, but the local policeman passing on his big, just laughed and saying he didn\u2019t know who to contact and the it was obvious what I needed to do, just go there at night when it was open. No thanks.
\n\"\"
\nLast location was The New Zandpad in Utrecht. The old Zandpad was the location of a number of Red Light houseboats which were used for window prostitution. The city was forced to close the site in 2013, due to extreme violence and ongoing exploitation. The sex industry, then campaigned to re-open the site, and consequently a patch of land has now been designated for the building of a series of new \u2018windows\u2019. Construction on the new site has, however, been delayed as the companies vying for the rights to \u2018manage\u2019 the new brothels failed to satisfy the demands of the Bibob laws pertaining to criminal activities such as exploitation. At present it is a building site, totally unaesthetic, but I have the feeling this is the right place to shoot the video. Hope it\u2019s not all built up too in the next few weeks!
\n.
\n.
\n2019, 4 May
\nBIJLMER STORIES<\/strong>
\nBeen in the studio all week recording four of the Bijlmer stories and one other short but emotional testimony. Two stories are going to have to wait until the actors I want to work with are free, as this week was a school holiday, so people were away.
\n\"\" Kaisa Pohjola comes from Finland and her accent made an interesting combination with the story of a woman from Madagascar.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nThis was the first time working with someone from the USA, and i was worried that the accent would be disturbing in a non-constructive way, but Harmony Shaikin performed wonderfully and the accent was not a distraction at all!<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nMatt Carney comes from the North of England and is a proper actor. I thought it would work best with native English speakers as the African sentences and grammar were going to be tricky for anyone for whom English was already a step removed.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nThom Driver is a fellow artist and got landed with the longest text… all about Shell Oil’s bad behaviour in the Niger Delta… I’m hoping I won’t be forced to cut too much of it to keep the video within limits.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nAnother artist, Rosie Heinrich, who studied at the Dutch Art Institute in the same time I was there. Extremely perfectionist… I’m going to have my work cut out for me editing all those takes!
\n.
\n2019, 25 April
\nSOCIAL COGNITION<\/strong>
\nInvited by department head and fellow abolitionist Sheetal Shah to lecture yesterday at the Webster University on Leiden to a group of psychology students for their Social Cognition class.
\n\"\"
\nPhoto by Koen<\/a>
\nWonderful mix of nationalities, including two Nigerian students which prompted me to change my presentation at the last minute and show the video monologue based on the testimony of a Sengalese \u2018sex-workers\u2019 rights activist and prostitution survivor. Interesting to hear foreign students’ first reactions to the Dutch system and the red light district.
\n.
\n2019, 18 April
\nSTRANGE BEDFELLOWS!<\/strong>
\n\"\"
\nYesterday there was a presentation by Per-Anders Sunessen, the Swedish Ambassador charged with Combatting Human Trafficking during which he presented, and then took questions on, the ‘Nordic Model’ – whereby it is the purchasers of sex who are prosecuted rather than those selling it. The organiser, Renate van der Zee, had asked if I could help find a location in the Red Light District, and so we ended up in the hall of the Salvation Army, with a rather stern portrait of Majoor Bosshardt looking on.
\n\"\"
\nPrior to the Ambasssador’s talk one of my Prostitution Monologues<\/em> was shown to the assembled crowd, which well superceded the 50 people we had expected.
\nAfterwards the ambassador asked if he could have a copy of the video to show when he travels around promoting the Swedish model… Yes of course! This is precisely how I hope my work can contribute to political change – art-activism in the best possible way… very happy indeed for it to travel with him.
\n.
\n2019, 30 March
\nTRAFFICKED MAN<\/strong>
\nToday was the first time I encountered a man who had been trafficked for sex with women. Another incredibly moving story. He was very brave to overcome his fears and embarassment and come to speak with me.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 27 March
\nMISSING PIECES<\/strong>
\nToday I had the feeling there are pieces of her story she has deliberately skipped over… either from shame, or from fear…
\n\"\"
\nIn my role as interviewer it must have been easy for her to feel like I am trying to set a trap, like the authorities that have interviewed them… yet I feel I cannot challenge them on the truth of the tale, or dig harshly into parts they want to remain silent about… still, it sometimes leaves me with a story that has so many missing pieces that I will not be able to work with it.
\n\"\"
\nDespite her reticence with the story, she was happy to make a mask and be photographed wearing it.
\n\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 20 March
\nAMAZING OPTIMISM<\/strong>
\n‘Queenie’ has managed to keep a huge smile and amazing optimism, despite having been betrayed on so many levels – by the grownups who were supposed to care for her, by the man who supposedly loved her, and by the Dutch judicial system which has meant she has spent 27 years in the Netherlands, first as a captive trafficking victim, and then, failed by the system, as an undocumented immigrant unable to build up her life. \"\"
\nShe likes to read and would love some English books, those I can<\/em> provide, so we will meet again soon.
\n.
\n2019, 19 March
\nLIMBO<\/strong>
\nShe studied medicine and worked as a matron in the hospital until when her eldest child died as the result of burns when her house was deliberately set on fire, and then the woman whom she was staying with was shot… Here in Amsterdam she is undocumented and her skills not put to use, she cleans houses to survive, and to send money back to help her two daughters finish studying. Even with her mask on she was afraid to have her picture taken.
\n\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 15 March
\nGUIDED TOUR<\/strong>
\nTomorrow Rosalie van Deursen will be giving a guided tour of the exhibition Free Radicals<\/em> at CBK-Zuidoost…
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nThese great pictures of my videos showing there were taken by Les Adu.
\n(c) CBKZO\/Les Abu
\n.
\n2019, 10 March
\nTOO MUCH HARDSHIP<\/strong>
\nShe came to me after she’d been to church today.
\n\"\"
\nDespite everything that’s happened to her – trafficked at the age of 16, lost a baby, her son lost an eye due to cancerous tumor, the insecurity of undocumented life – she has still emerged hopeful and strong, hoping to train as a nurse once her papers are in order. \"\"
\nHer mask looks shocked and young, the terrified 16 year old arriving in paradise only to discover hell.
\n\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 9 March
\nNO HAPPINESS<\/strong>
\nToday I listened to a very sad story, a woman tricked into sex-slavery by a Dutch man promising to marry her.
\n\"\"
\nHer whole life seems to have been misfortune after misfortune. And when I asked her what was the happiest moment in her life, she was silent, and finally said, that no, she could not think of one.
\n\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 8 March
\nWOMEN’S DAY IRONY<\/strong>
\nToday is International Women’s Day and I went on two women-related outings – first to the Amsterdam Museum to catch the exhibition 1001 Women of the 2oth Century<\/strong><\/em>, before it ends in a few days. And secondly, how ironic… to some tourist shops on the edge of the red light district where I found some new souvenirs to add to my collection for my upcoming installation in that same museum.
\n\"\"
\nAshtrays… Fun for whom<\/em>, we might ask…
\n\"\"
\nGlasses with windows allowing you to view the woman once you’ve drunk up… One with an impossible thin waist, the other with a few more kilos on her, presumably catering to the S&M market – does this reflect something in the real world, does a prostituted women end up having to turn to S&M business once she has gained a few kilos (or years)?
\n\"\"
\nHappy to have found this glass as it it has one of the few images of punters in my collection, two in fact, both looking horribly unsavoury – one with beer belly and beer, the other louche in an old mac.
\n\"\"
\nLastly two new fridge magnets, that section of the collection is really expanding.
\n.
\n2019, 7 March
\nAIRPLANE TO HEAVEN<\/strong>
\nToday the second interview with a trafficked woman with connections to the Amsterdam Southeast. When ‘Ocean’ took her first plane flight, she imagined she was going to European heaven in the hope of providing a better life for her four children. Instead she was trafficked into a hellish life being passed from one brothel to the other between the Netherlands and Germany. It has been 14 years since she last saw her kids.
\n\"\"
\nHer mask has both teeth and tears, anger and sorrow.
\n\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 6 March
\nBIJLMER SURVIVORS<\/strong>
\nThis morning the first interview with a trafficked woman connected to the Bijlmer, let’s call her Joy – not her real name, she needs to remain anonymous. A tragic and harrowing story, but she has managed to find strength to keep going and support not only her three children here in the Netherlands, but her other four in Nigeria.
\n\"\"I think some of that determination speaks from the self-portrait mask she painted.
\n\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 1 March
\nNEIGHBOURHOOD ETIQUETTE<\/strong>
\nWonderful sign in the stairway of my BijlmAIR flat. Very p.c. in terms of colour, but gender bias… hmmmn… no women are doing anything naughty, but they are busy cleaning!
\n\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 28 February
\nBIJLMER!<\/strong>
\nStarting my residency at BijlmAIR – thanks to CBK-Zuidoost – and looking forward to working on my new project Number One Tourist Attraction!<\/strong><\/em>
\nThis is the view from my workspace…
\n\"\"
\n.
\n2019, 3 February
\nTALK at CBK-ZUIDOOST<\/strong>
\nYesterday’s talk during Free Radicals at CBK-Zuidoost was very well attended and a good discussion ensued. Here are some photographs of the discussion, and of the audience watching my video works.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nThanks to CBK-ZO for the photos.
\n.<\/p>\n

2019, 28 January
\nARTISTS’ TALK<\/strong>
\nComing Saturday together with other artists from FREE RADICALS – Tyna Adebowale, Patricia Kaersenhout and Ephrem Solomon Tegegn – I will be be talking about my work during the Kunstcafe at CBK-Zuidoost (Anton de Komplein, metro BijlmerArena). Presenter will be is writer\/journalist Babah Tarawally. Entrance is FREE!
\n2 February from 3-5pm.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n‘<\/p>\n

2019, 26 January
\nGOOD START<\/strong>
\n2019 off to a good start with sessions in the studio recording the last two monologues of the current series. With the quintessentially English Philippa Collin, and natural talent, Karoenja Woudenberg.
\n\"\"
\n\"\"
\n.<\/p>\n

2018, 31 December
\nFREE RADICALS in JANUARY<\/strong>
\nLooking forward to being part of the FREE RADICALS<\/em> exhibition at CBK Zuidoost.
\n\"\"
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\n.<\/p>\n

Poster designed by Victor Levie and Marit van der Meer
\nOpening Saturday, January 19, 2019 from 3pm \u2013 6pm at CBK Zuidoost, Anton de Komplein 120, 1102 DR Amsterdam
\nExhibition runs until March 2019. Closes 30th March withperformance Mari\u00eblle Videler.
\nCurators: Rosalie van Deursen (Urban Africans) and Renske de Jong (CBK Zuidoost)
\nArtists: Tyna Adebowale (Nigeria), Raul Balai (NL), Stacey Gillian (Uganda), Jimini Hignett (UK\/NL), Patricia Kaersenhout (NL), John Kamicha (Kenya), Ephrem Solomon Tegegn (Ethiopia) and Mari\u00eblle Videler (NL).
\n.<\/p>\n

2018, 27 December
\nENDLESS EDITING<\/strong>
\nSpending the end of the year editing the recently recorded Prostitution Monologues<\/em>. Here’s a still from Yael<\/em>…\"\"
\n.
\n.2018, 28 November
\n‘ARTIST ABOLITIONIST’<\/strong>
\nIn connection with Handle With Care<\/em> at Kosovo 2.0<\/em> in Pristina, I was interviewed by Cristina Mar\u00ed resulting in this in depth article… thank you! \"\"
\nPhoto:_Majlinda Hoxha \/ Kosovo 2.0
\n<\/a>ONE-ON-ONE | SEXUAL VIOLENCEJIMINI HIGNETT: \u201cIN THE SEX INDUSTRY, WE NEED TO PROSECUTE THE BUYERS\u201d<\/strong><\/a>
\nBy Cristina Mar\u00ed\t– 26.11.2018<\/em><\/p>\n

Jimini Hignett: \u201cIn the sex industry, we need to prosecute the buyers\u201d<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n