The workshops of the Embassy of Inclusive Society

22 October 14:00-16:00hrs: The Infrastructural Drag

In this workshop, we will break down the binary idea of gender (thinking of gender as being just male or female). To do so, we will use drag, a performance of exaggerated gender expressions. The gender binary has been upheld and maintained by things like environmental hormones, contraceptive pill containers, electric cables, public bathrooms, hotel rooms, brothels, suburban areas, and even Wikipedia.

In the workshop, we’ll use drag as a strategy of appropriation to take apart and put back together these normative structures playfully. We’ll also use Meta Spark as a strategy of publication. Meta Spark is a digital toolkit made by Meta for creating augmented reality. Even though Meta Spark itself can sometimes reinforce a certain representation of gender, we’ll talk about what it means to publish using such a tool and what agency we still have in the process. The workshop’s goal would be to take a bathroom selfie with the Infrastructural Drag makeup that we created together during the workshop. 

This workshop will take place right next to the gender-neutral bathroom at the Van Abbemuseum. The session will be in English.

Sign up here.

22 October 14:00-16:00hrs: (De)coding bodies

In today’s society, where data plays a big role, our bodies have been turned into places that are constantly watched. This talk aims to look at these important concerns and see how external forces are closely watching, coding, and shaping our physical selves. 

Gabriel Fontana’s work will first highlight how sports serve as a biopolitical arena. As a way of keeping an eye on people, affecting how society thinks and who we are from a young age. Next, through the lens of Kaan Hiçyılmaz, we’ll look at the role of modern surveillance technologies like security cameras (CCTVs) and wearable devices, which track our every move and action. These perspectives will help us understand how we can reclaim our bodily autonomy, take back control of our bodies and break free from these systems that control and define who and what we are.

This event is organised by the Embassy of Inclusive Society and Onomatopee X Balkan Laboratories, featuring exhibitions on related topics. The session will be in English.

Sign up here.

23 October 14:00-17:00hrs: Working with experts with lived experience? Ask an artist for advice!

Theatre makers Karlijn van Kruchten and Maxime Schräder spent five months working at the 2Switch thrift store. Together with their colleagues, they created a theatre performance about the world of thrifting and, most importantly, about themselves. Because if you work at a thrift store, there’s a chance you’re in a reintegration program to ‘take steps in your personal development towards suitable employment’. It turns out that colleagues take these steps faster and better when they put their talents and stories to good use in contributing to a theatre performance.

How do you go about this as a theatremaker? How do you engage in conversations with such a diverse group of people? In this workshop, Karlijn, Maxime, and participant Simone share their experiences. How did they collaborate in as equitable a manner as possible? And how did Simone experience this?

The workshop invites policymakers to explore design anthropology as a way to work with experts with lived experience and inclusive participation. It also offers new insights and tools for designers and artists who want to make and develop work in a participatory manner. Sign up here.

24 October 15:00-17:00hrs: Beyond the Visible

To what extent can religion and spirituality exist in a society that is organised in a secular way, without specific religious influence? This question is explored in the workshop ‘Beyond the Visible’ by YUMNA. As a collective inspired by a faith-centred vision, the non-visible is constant in our thinking and doing. It is about relating to God.

In this workshop, we introduce you to a YUMNA experience. You are invited into a space that encourages curiosity and open conversation. As a follow-up from our previous research, ‘A Spiritual Home for Us’, we now ask: what is needed for a healthy spiritual environment? While doing so, we challenge you to imagine spaces beyond the visible world as seen with the eye.

The session is in English and/or Dutch, depending on the participants. Sign up here.

24 oktober 15:00u-17:30u: Zorgen voor de verzorger: wat betekent zorgen voor een ander?

Hester Dibbits and Rosa Mul share the ‘Emotion Networking’ method that invites people to exchange their feelings about everyday cultural phenomena. It also allows for discussing any changes in those feelings during the exchange. In this session, we explore what this method can mean for those who provide care to others. This includes professionals as well as informal caregivers. We engage in a conversation about everyday caregiving actions.

The ’emotion networks method’ investigates the complex interactions that arise among participants. Participants practice critically engaging with a subject and openly discussing it. Always considering the dynamics surrounding the topic and their own position within it. The premise is that feelings can change through interaction with others due to new information, for example. Such a ‘novel voice’ can cause lots of things to change and alter the entire composition. However, it’s also possible that nothing or minimal changes.

We invite policymakers, healthcare professionals, designers, individuals from the creative industry, and other non-professional caregivers. Together, we explore what this method can mean for those who provide care to others. Sign up here.

25 october 14:00-16:00hrs: Mirror, mirror on the wall, are there opportunities to participate for us all?

The Netherlands is an inclusive country, right? Well, it’s not yet a given that everyone can fully participate in society here. For people with physical disabilities, different backgrounds, invisible disabilities, and many others, there are still high barriers. Everything takes more time or is complicated. You often have to solve things on your own and always need to put in extra effort. Is that fair?

In this workshop, you’ll have a conversation with the Sounding Board Group (Spiegelgroep) from the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport (VWS). You’ll learn what you can do to make participation possible for everyone. We’ll discuss the domains of healthcare, education, and employment. Interesting for anyone working in these sectors, in leadership roles, or involved in policymaking. But also for people who have to deal with these barriers and want to share ideas on how things can and should be different. In this workshop, we’ll start building an inclusive future together.

The session will be in Dutch with a sign language interpreter. Sign up here.

25 October 14:00-16:00hrs: Bootcamp Inclusive Design

Inaccessible environments aren’t intentionally designed, right? In a world where design shapes our daily lives, it’s time to understand why accessibility isn’t a luxury but a necessity. We delve into accessible design and explore how it can enrich our designs.

Are you involved in policy, service, product development, or designing buildings and public spaces? Sign up for this Bootcamp. Step into the shoes of someone with a disability and learn about their experiences firsthand. Through simulations, you’ll encounter the challenges and gain a deeper understanding of inclusive design. We want to hear your ideas. We’ll discuss real-life cases and share tips and tricks for building an inclusive design community together.

Depending on the participants, the session will be held in English and/or Dutch. Sign up here aan.

26 October 14:00-16:00hrs: Affordable Housing in a Strong Neighbourhood – Community Land Trust Nederland

A Community Land Trust involves residents, users, businesses, neighbours, and local authorities in ownership and decision-making regarding land. Together, this ‘Community’ of people develop, live, and share facilities and manage them collectively. The ‘Land’ is taken from the market and placed in shared ownership. This prevents real estate prices from being influenced by rising land prices, ensuring fairness and accessibility. The ‘Trust’ is responsible for the shared management of the land and buildings, guaranteeing affordability and sustainability for future generations. Sustainable design, construction, and management choices are encouraged because a Community Land Trust is anti-speculative. The Trust focuses on the long-term and the interests of the community.

We will showcase several examples of Dutch Community Land Trust initiatives. We will explain the perspectives of the community, developers, and the role of designers. The session concludes with a discussion of ‘The Community as the Expert.’ The workshop is relevant for initiators, policymakers, and developers who want to discuss how we can collectively make Community Land Trusts possible in the Netherlands.

The workshop will be held in Dutch. Sign up here.

27 October  14:00-16:00hrs: Keti Koti – Kadena Kibra: Representation, Ownership and Embodiment in Practice

We explore Eindje 0 Filters approach, which combines media, art, culture, and activism. We also examine how this approach was applied in the ‘Keti Koti – Kadena Kibra 2023 project.’ In close collaboration with the June 30 – July 1 Committee Foundation and drawing from the experiences and insights of community members, we zoomed in on the sensitive history and its impact in the present. We sought to translate healing and recovery into art, viewing art as a way to share untold history. Aminata Cairo’s ‘Holding Space’ methodology was crucial in this process. It allowed us to remain present with one another, transcending intergenerational trauma dynamics.

Sign up here.

27 October 15:00-17:00hrs: Stories to Sleep to

‘Stories to Sleep to’ is a performance series where storytellers share bedtime stories. In each performance, a BIPOC (Black indigenous and people of colour) artist, whose practice resonates with the decolonial theory of slowing down, lulls you to sleep as they tell bedtime stories inspired by their cultures. 

This series began in search of a more restful, comfortable, safer way to share narratives with the audience. This revealed the age-old medium of the bedtime story as a means to slow down and to guide listeners to rest and dream. We invite you to bring your overworked and under-rested bodies to take a cosy mid-day nap at the Van Abbemuseum’s soft yellow carpeted room. Here Nisala performs a bedtime story inspired by Sri Lankan tales.

Mayomi Basnayaka hosts the session with a guest performance by Nisala. The event is in English. Sign up here.