18.03.24 – 22.03.24, Workshop: Am I Evil?, The Brugge exiled edition

Can erotic writing become a place for unsettling decolonial and feminist exploration? How could one embrace the tool of erotic writing to investigate power processes of colonization, discrimination, nano-racism, marginalization, exoticization, abuse and seduction from diverse perspectives?

After MuseaBrugge dismissed the final output presentation of the Brugge edition of Am I Evil?,KIOSK and KASK & Conservatorium have decided to welcome the project and let it interact with a new group of participants. Therefore Am I Evil?- The Brugge exiled edition is not just a presentation for Ghent audience, it expands, and transforms this occasion into a new invitation to think, feel, and write.

Writers of all sorts are invited to explore the research questions of Am I Evil? on a collective research journey, inspired by the controversial life of the first female African art collector, and trader, Jeanne Walschot, active in the heart of Brussels from the 1920s. In particular, the erotic relationship Ms. Walschot established with her own collection of looted African artifacts is the premise for this open invitation to write through desire as a tool for self-discovery.

From the 18^th to the 22^nd of March 2024, curators Simone Basani and Alice Ciresola together with writer Els Moors unfold their research process so far about Jeanne Walschot legacy. Parallely they will share with the participants a series of writing/editing exercises to explore their own desire/s and how they relate to the Other.

On the 18^th of March at KIOSK in the evening there will be an introduction-lecture that opens the research week. Some writers from the Brugge edition (initially co-produced by MuseaBrugge and KAAP only) will be reading excerpts of their texts for the audience, talking about them, as a way to meet the new group of writers as well.

From the 19^th, these texts will become a source of inspiration for the new participants to produce their own materials through individual writing sessions, group exchange moments and a peer-to-peer editing methodology.

On the 22^nd of March the curators foresee the possibility of opening the doors of the workshop room to share parts of the process from the previous days.

Workshop Schedule

18 March, 6 - 8.30 pm: lecture-introduction about the legacy of Jeanne Walschot + sharing moment (reading and conversation) with the authors from Brugge edition

19–21 March, 10 am - 4 pm: self-introduction through the favourite erotic scenes of the participants + collective and individual writing exercises + collective reading moments, discussion, peer-to-peer editing methodology

22 March, 11 am - 6.30 pm: texts finalisation + final public or semi-public sharing moment (tbc)

Please note:

• Participants don't need to have previous professional experience with writing while it is important they are interested in exploring themselves through erotic writing.
• Participants have an active interest in what decolonisation might mean and allow themselves to be challenged.
• Lingua franca of the workshop is English. Nevertheless each participant is invited to write in the language they prefer.
• It is important that the participants join every day of the workshop, from 18 to 22 March.
• The number of participants is limited in order to enable a meaningful exchange among them. Please get in touch with Simone to check if there are places left and for any other doubts relating to the workshop process: accessibility, conditions for participating, privacy, etc. If your preferred writing language is not English, Dutch, French, Italian or German please let us know about it when you register at: amievil.workshop@gmail.com.

While we recognise that different types of discrimination are deeply embedded in the fabric of European culture, no intentionally discriminatory view will be allowed in the workshop. Am I Evil? is intended primarily as a place to question problematic patterns, not to empower them.

About Am I Evil?

Am I Evil? : The Brugge exiled edition is welcomed in Gent by KIOSK and KASK & conservatorium. Co-produced by KAAP, MuseaBrugge, radical_hope, nadine, KIOSK and KASK & Conservatorium.

Curation: Simone Basani and Alice Ciresola

Invited writer: Els Moors

Writers: Lore Selys, Roger Fähndrich, Maite Vanthournout, Els Moors, Simone Basani, Adele A., Annemie Craeye (Marcella), H. de S. and the new participants

Booklet: design: rien_de_nouveau_ici / proofreading: Bruno De Wachter and Diana Duta / printed at nadine, Brussels, in March 2024Bios

Simone Basani (IT/BE) is a curator, dramaturg and art producer. His research focuses on participatory strategies and remembrance processes through a queer and decolonial lens.

Alice Ciresola (IT/BE) is an independent researcher and curator of performance and participatory projects. Her research revolves around strategies of material and immaterial heritage re-interpretation through site-specific art interventions.