FOTODOK x FUTURES are proud to announce Fierce Togetherness – Kinship, Gender and Photography, a three-day conference at Utrecht’s Centraal Museum, running from 1-3 November 2024. 

Curated by Delphine Bedel and Daria Tuminas, this conference focuses on kinship, exploring possible forms of interconnectedness between actors in the local cultural scene. In their work, many of the guest participants strive to transform oppressive social structures, searching for ways to reclaim space for those who identify as women, trans, non-binary or gender-nonconforming. The programme introduces various strategies of this essential reclamation, from celebration and sharing food to protest and challenging institutions. 

The conference’s title refers to the writings of adrienne maree brown. In Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good, brown states: “I love being of women who transform the brutal conditions we survive, who are upending rape culture, knowing we are inferior to no one, weaving our suffering into a fierce togetherness, into homes, chosen families, radical sisterhood, and Tomorrows.” In the spirit of this statement, it is our hope that the conference generates lasting ties between participants, unveiling the potential of the power we collectively hold. 

At a time when right wing rhetoric has been normalised – becoming mainstream in the Netherlands – our togetherness has to be fierce. We must be fierce in resistance. Fierce in our persistent research, and fierce in joy. We need to support one another, developing kinship between members of different communities to stand together against a dominant patriarchal culture of violence and discrimination. 

Guest participants include, among others: researcher Nancy Jouwe; writer Umayya Abu-Hanna;  SKINSHIP collective, Paweł Duduś (CHILL) and melanie bonajo (eeeezzii); artist Bete van Meeuwen; journalist ‍Zaïre Krieger; curator at Wereldmuseum, Valeria Posada Villada; curator at Nederlands Fotomuseum, Guinevere Ras; curator Miki Gebrelul; artists Nadine Stijns and Batya Brown; collector and gallerist Narda van ‘t Veer; the Cooking Something Up project team of Carla Arcos Mathon, Yusser al Obaidi and Julia Wilhelm; and moderators Mounir Samuel, Rubiah Balsem, Nadine Ridder, Vivian Cintra, and Wan Ing Que. Participants will also have the chance to engage with the programme, at the Centraal Museum, featuring an artist tour by Anna Aagaard Jensen through her new exhibition, Welkom thuis, lieverd.

The conference takes shape as a FUTURES Meet-Up, connecting local participants with the broader European photographic field. The programme commences after the opening of the exhibition ENERGY: Redistributing Power and Taming Consumption on 31 October, featuring artists drawn from FUTURES’ European network of members, selected through an open call by Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, PhotoIreland and FOTODOK. Throughout the conference, both artists and several FUTURES members will participate in workshops and lead exhibition tours; there will also be a performance by the interdisciplinary artist Hien Hoang. 

LOCATIONS:

Day Programme, 1-3 November: Centraal Museum, Agnietenstraat 1, 3512 XA Utrecht

Evening Exhibition Tours, 1-2 November: FOTODOK, Lange Nieuwstraat 7, 3512 PA Utrecht

CREDITS:

Curators: Delphine Bedel and Daria Tuminas
Design: Pleun Gremmen
Translation and editing: Felix van de Vorst, Hannah Vernier en George H. King

Event photography: Nastya Vinogradova

Organisational and hosting partner: the Centraal Museum

Production: Delphine Bedel, Daria Tuminas, Eleonora Schianchi, the team of FOTODOK and the Centraal Museum

With the support of FUTURES, Europe Programme of the European Union, the City of Utrecht, Mondriaan Fonds, and ENGAGEMENT ARTS NL.

ABOUT FUTURES:

FUTURES is the European Photography Platform, bringing together the global photography community to support and nurture the professional development of emerging artists. Established in 2017, FUTURES aims to add long term value by empowering early and mid-career photographers – launching initiatives to promote their work and granting them access to an unprecedented network of professionals, markets and audiences. FUTURES is cofunded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

CONTEXT:

Fierce Togetherness – Kinship, Gender and Photography is the third edition in a series of FOTODOK conferences on gender and photography. It follows The Female Perspective in Documentary Photography (2019), and (IN)VISIBILITIES, Gender and Photography in the Netherlands (2022). In 2024, FOTODOK is delighted to extend this series under the FUTURES’ framework, inviting thinkers and makers from across Europe to join the conversation.