Melanie Bonajo
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Melanie Bonajo
Melanie Bonajo (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, Dutch artist, filmmaker, feminist, sexological bodyworker, somatic sex coach and educator, cuddle workshop facilitator and animal rights activist. Through their videos, performances, photographs and installations, Mel examines current conundrums of co-existence in a crippling capitalistic systems, and address themes of eroding intimacy and isolation in an increasingly sterile, technological world. They research how technological advances and commodity based pleasures increase feelings of alienation, removing a sense of belonging in an individual, and their works present anti-capitalist methods to reconnect, explore sexualities, intimacies and feelings. Their experimental documentaries often explore communities living or working on the margins of society, either through illegal means or cultural exclusion, and the paradoxes inherent to ideas of comfort with a strong sense for community, equality, and body-politics. Their work has ...
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Queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the late 1980s, queer activists, such as the members of Queer Nation, began to reappropriation, reclaim the word as a deliberately provocative and Gay liberation, politically radical alternative to the more assimilationist branches of the LGBT community. In the 21st century, ''queer'' became increasingly used to describe a broad spectrum of non-normative sexual and/or gender identities and politics. Academic disciplines such as queer theory and queer studies share a general opposition to Gender binary, binarism, normativity, and a perceived lack of intersectionality, some of them only tangentially connected to the LGBT movement. Queer arts, queer cultural groups, and queer political groups are examples of modern expressions of queer identities. ...
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Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of the " Big Three" alongside the Venice Film Festival in Italy and the Cannes Film Festival in France. Tens of thousands of visitors attend each year. About 400 films are shown at multiple venues across Berlin, mostly in and around Potsdamer Platz. They are screened in nine sections across cinematic genres, with around twenty films competing for the festival's top awards in the Competition section. The major awards, called the Golden Bear and Silver Bears, are decided on by the international jury, chaired by an internationally recognisable cinema personality. This jury and other specialised Berlinale juries also give many other awards, and in addition there are other awards given by i ...
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Rijksakademie Van Beeldende Kunsten
The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. It is a classical academy, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. The school supports visual artists with a two-year curriculum. The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten was the home of Amsterdam Impressionism, part of the international impressionist movement, and is known as the School of Allebé by art historians; August Allebé became the school's director in 1880. In French language the school was called "l'Académie Royale des Beaux Arts d'Amsterdam". Among its pioneers here were George Breitner, Jan Toorop, Piet Mondrian, Jacques Witjens and Willem Arnoldus Witsen. Other artists connected with the academy were Hendrik Petrus Berlage, Willem Wiegmans, Constant Nieuwenhuijs, Karel Appel, Corneille, Ger Lataster, Willem Hofhuizen, and Jaap Min. The school provides an education academically comparable with a university. ...
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Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam
Foam or Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam is a photography museum located at the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The museum has four different exhibitions at any given time in which different photographic genres are shown, such as documentary, art and fashion. Next to large exhibitions by well-known photographers, Foam also shows the work of young and upcoming photographers, in shorter running exhibitions. Two notable shows were ''Henri Cartier-Bresson - A Retrospective'', work by Henri Cartier-Bresson, and ''Richard Avedon - Photographs 1946–2004'', a major retrospective of Richard Avedon. In summer 2016, Foam presented a major Helmut Newton retrospective exhibition. The museum contains a café, a library, a bookshop, and a commercial gallery called Foam Editions. The museum also publishes a quarterly international photography magazine called ''Foam Magazine.'' Building The building on the Keizersgracht canal in which Foam is located has a history dating back to C ...
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Me Too Movement
#MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in 2006, on Myspace, by sexual assault survivor and activist Tarana Burke. Harvard University published a case study on Burke, called "Leading with Empathy: Tarana Burke and the Making of the Me Too Movement" (2020). The hashtag ''#MeToo'' was used starting in 2017 as a way to draw attention to the magnitude of the problem. The purpose of "Me Too", as initially voiced by Burke as well as those who later adopted the tactic, is to empower sexually assaulted people (especially young and vulnerable women of color) through empathy, solidarity, and strength in numbers, by visibly demonstrating how many have experienced sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace. Following the exposure of numerous sexual-abuse allegations agains ...
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BOMB Magazine
''Bomb'' (stylized in all caps as ''BOMB'') is an American arts magazine edited by artists and writers, published quarterly in print and daily online. It is composed primarily of interviews between creative people working in a variety of disciplines—visual art, literature, film, music, theater, architecture, and dance. In addition to interviews, ''Bomb'' publishes reviews of literature, film, and music, as well as new poetry and fiction. ''Bomb'' is published by New Art Publications, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. History ''Bomb'' was launched in 1981 by a group of New York City-based artists, including Betsy Sussler, Sarah Charlesworth, Glenn O'Brien, Michael McClard, and Liza Béar, who sought to record and promote public conversations between artists without mediation by critics or journalists.McClister, Nell"Bomb Magazine: Celebrating 25 Years" ''Bomb'', Retrieved October 13, 2014. The name ''Bomb'' is a reference to both Wyndham Lewis' ''Blast'' and the fact t ...
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CocoRosie
CocoRosie is an American musical group formed in 2003 by sisters Sierra Rose "Rosie" and Bianca Leilani "Coco" Casady. The group's music has been described as folktronica, freak folk and "New Weird America", and incorporates elements of pop, blues, opera, electronica, and hip hop. The group has released seven studio albums, '' La Maison de Mon Rêve'' (2004), ''Noah's Ark'' (2005), ''The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn'' (2007), ''Grey Oceans'' (2010), ''Tales of a GrassWidow'' (2013), ''Heartache City'' (2015), and ''Put the Shine On'' (2020), and two EPs, ''Beautiful Boyz'' (2004) and ''Coconuts, Plenty of Junk Food'' (2009). They released their sixth album ''Heartache City'' on their own record label, Lost Girl Records. Originally a duo, the group was formed when Bianca, who was living in New York City at the time, made an impromptu visit to Sierra at her Paris apartment, reconnecting with her for the first time in ten years. The sisters began creating music togethe ...
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Kembra Pfahler
Kembra Pfahler (born August 4, 1961 in Hermosa Beach, California, United States) is an American filmmaker, performance artist, visual artist, adjunct professor, rock musician, and film actress. Her film work is associated with the movement known as the Cinema of Transgression. As a musician, she leads the band The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, who are inspired by glam, punk and shock rock. As a visual artist, Pfahler is known for self-portraits and for founding the art movements Anti-naturalism and Availabism. She co-authored "13 Tenets of Future Feminism". She has also been called the "godmother of modern day shock art". Early life and education Pfahler is the daughter of surfer Freddy Pfahler who had appeared in the 1958 surf film ''Slippery When Wet'', directed by Bruce Brown.Engle, John. ''Surfing in the Movies: A Critical History'', McFarland, 2015, Her brother is Adam Pfahler, the drummer of Jawbreaker. She grew up in Southern California. She went to college at the ...
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Paradiso (Amsterdam)
Paradiso is a Dutch music venue and cultural centre located in Amsterdam. History It is housed in a converted former church building that dates from the nineteenth century and that was used until 1965 as the meeting hall for a liberal Dutch religious group known as the "Vrije Gemeente" (Free Congregation). It is located on ''de Weteringschans'', near the ''Leidseplein'', one of the nightlife and tourism centers of the city. The main concert hall in the former church interior has high ceilings and two balcony rings overlooking the stage area, with three large illuminated church windows above the stage. The acoustics are rather echoey, but improvements have been made over the years. In addition to the main concert hall, there are two smaller cafe stages, on an upper floor and in the basement. Paradiso was squatted by hippies in 1967 who wanted to convert the church to an entertainment and leisure club. The police ended the festivities the same year. In 1968, the city opened P ...
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The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers politics, business, entertainment, environment, technology, popular media, lifestyle, culture, comedy, healthy living, women's interests, and local news featuring columnists. It was created to provide a progressive alternative to the conservative news websites such as the Drudge Report. The site offers content posted directly on the site as well as user-generated content via video blogging, audio, and photo. In 2012, the website became the first commercially run United States digital media enterprise to win a Pulitzer Prize. Founded by Andrew Breitbart, Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, the site was launched on May 9, 2005 as a counterpart to the Drudge Report. In March 2011, it was acquired by AOL for US$315& ...
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