ESPACE FXMME
ESPACE FXMME – WOMXN SPACE, created shortly before the pandemic, is a time-based space taking place every Thursday within Globe Aroma. It is a platform for female/non-binary artists and creatives to create safer space in an environment previously dominated by a male presence.
The project TALK WITH THE WALLS is developed as a reflection, design exercise and action on how the space of Globe Aroma best reflects our values (intersectionality, solidarity, participation, creativity, inclusion, care). How do we ensure each person walking into our (semi-)public infrastructure does not feel overpowered by “the noise” that prevents them from creating or simply being present?
The project aims to establish a new platform for womxn/non binary artists and creatives. It was launched by a design workshop (Chapter 1: MOVING WALLS 1) during which participants discussed, projected and designed what a safer space is/can be. It resulted in a modular and movable wall/furniture that multiplied and got constructed by the womxn and the Decoratelier craftsmen (Chapter 2: MOVING WALLS 2). Here the emphasis was to go beyond the thought process of defining a safe space but to encourage, establish ownership by the action of building.
In Chapter 3 (THE MURAL) we created a mural inspired by strong and powerful figures of female/non-binary iconography, symbols and ornaments, personal stories of ancestors and female role models. The group designed and created a composition of female friendship and feminist values that was collectively painted during the Summer of Globe festival of 2021 in the lobby of Globe Aroma, a place where the womxn have experienced in the past cat-calling and harassment.
Getting Softer (Chapter 4) is a series of workshops on different textile techniques that took place every Thursday, aiming to create softer vessels of hospitality for the community of Globe Aroma. The group, using all the acquired knowledge, has designed a series of patchwork curtains (also cushions and rugs) to furnish a softer, more feminine and fluid way of creating and holding space; that of textile.
The elements are used inside Globe Aroma but also have the potential of creating a nomadic space that travels around, manifesting and hosting a safer, intimate space of exchange for womxn and non-binary people in the public sphere, art institutions and womxn spaces.