Programme

Letters of Disappointment

15.00-18.00
writing workshop
register via info@netwerkaalst.be

The writing workshop ‘Letters of Disappointment’ takes as its point of departure the growing collection of letters of Dora García, that spawned the issue of Girls Like Us Magazine under the same title. Guided by Dutch writer Persis Bekkering, participants will work on a letter of their own, experiencing the mobilising potential of voicing disappointment.

Amor Rojo by Dora García

18.30-20.30
film screening and Q&A
voluntary contribution, reserve your tickets here

Can love also become a weapon? In Amor Rojo, Dora García uses the historical figure of Alexandra Kollontai (1872-1952), a Marxist theorist and Soviet revolutionary, radical feminist, and sex activist, as a guide to walk the labyrinth of female freedom and sexual emancipation.

Closing drinks

20.30-22.00

Girls Like Us issue #14: Letters of Disappointment

The feeling of disappointment is not only close to regret, sadness, and dissatisfaction – a feeling of loss, an uncomfortable space (or a painful gap) between expectations and reality – we also understand it as a rattling in the rusty machinery of a society whose fuel is extraction and oppression. Considered an ‘ugly feeling’ by society’s norm, we’re not supposed to vocalize what and who is letting us down. We’re supposed to stay positive, get organized and act, instead of lingering in negative emotions. We’re supposed to be productive. But making space for disappointment can be a strategy of dissensus. Instead of wallowing in impotence, to make explicit what is not meeting expectations for this world can be an act of renouncing and making cracks in the status quo, while not giving up allegiance that another world is possible.Editorial team: Pelumi Adejumo, Persis Bekkering, Dagmar Bosma, Dora García, Jessica Gysel Sara Kaaman, Katja Mater & Yin Yin Wong.

Peris Bekkering

Persis Bekkering (NL, Brussels based) is the author of two novels, Een heldenleven (2018, shortlisted for the ANV Debut Prize) and Exces (2021, shortlisted for the BNG Bank Prize for Literature). As a writer, performer, conversation partner and dramaturg, she has collaborated with artists such as Dora García, Ula Sickle and Aimée Zito Lema. She teaches creative writing at ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem (NL).

Dora García

Dora García’s practice relates to community and individuality in contemporary society, exploring the political potential of marginal positions, and paying homage to eccentric characters and antiheroes. lives and works in Oslo. She studied visual arts at the University of Salamanca in Barcelona and the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam in the early nineties. Subsequently, she moved to Belgium, where she spent fifteen years developing her personal visual language, experimenting with film, printed matter, performance, theatre and web-based works. García’s practice is situated at the intersection of the visual arts, performing arts, theatre and literature. She represented Spain at the Venice Biennale in 2011. She has participated in the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015, Documenta 13 in 2012, and other international events such as Skulptur Projekte Münster in 2007, Sydney Biennial 2008, and São Paulo Bienal 2010.