They Were Here

My 6th. story. Written at a writers' residency in Mahdia, Tunisia.
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Najiya Thamir.
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Najiya Thamir, also known as Nejia Thameur and Bint al -Waha, (1926–1988) was a Tunesian writer and radio phonic programs producer.
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Edited by Tinne De Cort.
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Sources:
- Hysteria: Unveiling Tunisian Women’s Journey in Writing Chick-Lit by Cyrine Kortas.
- Faten Fazaa’s Book Hysteria, a review by Miled khaldi.
- Human Rights Watch on LGBT-rights.

My 5th. story. Written from the Göteborg Book Fair 2024.
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Alfhild Theresia Agrell.
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Alfhild Theresia Agrell was a Swedish writer and playwright. She is known for her works on sexual equality in opposition to the contemporary sexual double standard.
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Thank you:
Delegation of Flanders in the Nordic Countries.
Flanders Literature.
Edited by Tinne De Cort.

My 4th. story. Written from the Antwerp Queer Arts Festival.
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 A letter to Mathilde Schroyens.  
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Mathilde Joséphina Schroyens was a Belgian politician associated with the Belgian Socialist Party and subsequently the Parti Socialiste. She was the first female mayor of Antwerp between 1977 and 1982. 
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Thank you: 
Written at the request of Antwerp Queer Arts Festival and performed at De Studio Designed by Samenschool.
Edited by Tinne De Cort. 

My 3rd. story. Written from The West Cork Literary Festival, Bantry, Ireland.
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 A letter to Clotilde Graves, Irish journalist, author and playwright
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 Clotilde Graves was the first woman to have two plays running simultaneously in London: A Mother of Three and A Matchmaker, which both premiered in 1896. She wrote about sexual abuse, a topic that was hardly recognized in the Victorian era and in a society that ignored issues that could destabilize moral rectitude. Most of her work was therefore seen as a completely inappropriate. But that did not stop her from writing. 
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 Thank you: 
 - West Cork Literary Festival.
 - Flip Through Flanders
 - Flanders Literature
 - Fiona Kearney at the The Glucksman museum in Cork.
 - Tinne De Cort for editing the letter. 

My 2nd. story. Written at Marres, House for Contemporary Culture in Maastricht, as one of the jurors for the Limburg Biënnale 2024.
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 A letter to Grada Wolffensperger, the Netherlands’ first female architect graduate!
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 My letter to Grada Wolffensperger is in line with the theme I chose for my room at the Limburg Biënnale 2024. 
 I think a lot about the ‘utopian city.’ Like the gaze of urban planners, the city is not neutral. Its systematic adherence to dominant social categories and structures makes it inherently biased. So, what makes a city safe, inclusive, user-friendly, caring? Asking these questions requires a new perspective that is aware of how a city reflects the patriarchal system.

That is why I took a symbolic tabula rasa as a starting point for my selection of works. My room is a post-apocalyptic place where the viewer can think about how we want to shape our cities, if ever we get the chance to start over. The works are desolate, dark, and people are nowhere to be found. A figurative thought experiment and a blank canvas for contemplating what the new city might look like in these times, so that it becomes a place not just for the few, but for all.
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 Thank you: 
 - Oonah Duchateau for designing the letter.
 - Marres Maastricht & Oda Park Venray for the invitation.

My 1st. story. Written at the invitation of SMORpress - Trondheim - in their series From:To. 
The invitation inspired me to continue writing letters which became my own LoveLetter-project. 
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 A letter to Anna Munch, Norwegian novelist and dramatist.
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 Anna Munch was a Norwegian novelist and dramatist whose works address conflicts between the sexes, frequently based on her own experience of marriage and divorce. Her early novel Kvinder. Et Stykke Udviklingshistorie. Kristiania-fortælling (Women. A Piece on Development History. Christiania Tale), 1892, is about women artists. Her principal work, the novel Glæde (Joy), 1904, presents a sensitive description of the utopian world of childhood.
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 Thank you: 
 - SMORpress for the invitation and for designing the letter.
 - Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder (LKV) for having me as a writer-in-residence 2024.
 - Rosendal theater Trondheim for giving me the possibility to perform the letter on stage.