Europe is female! 2024

Still today, women* in European societies remain inequal. Furthermore, women are still underrepresented on many levels today. Whether in politics, science or in leadership positions in business - there is still a lot to do to create real equality. In addition, women and both their achievements as well as challenges oftentimes remain hidden to the larger public.

It is exactly here, where Europe is Female comes in: we want to create a safer space in which a group of young women comes together to learn and create artworks relating to their personal experiences. They share their personal stories and make them visible to new, larger audience – thus making their stories visible as well as their voices heard.

About the project

Europe is Female² is an empowerment project that supports a group of young women* from Germany, Portugal, Slovenia and Romania in voicing and portraying their individual perspectives and experiences with regards to gender equality and the visibility of women in society.

In three weeks of workshops, they create their own artworks on the themes of equality, participation and female role models. In each workshop they will be introduced to a different art form by local female artists, which they will then explore in the following days and contribute their own ideas and thoughts. In addition to the art workshops, the participants spend cultural evenings together, discover the cities where we come together and exchange views in the diverse group. In a final workshop week in Berlin, they gather their learnings and works and prepare their own exhibition – consisting of their own works, thoughts and discussions that took place in the individual workshops.

What is the aim?

The participants actively participate in the project and decide on the main themes themselves. They create their own artworks and engage closely with the issue of gender equality. This encourages them to create space and a voice for themselves and to make an active - and visible - contribution to society.

Building Blocks

The co-creation seminars bring together a total of 20 participants from the four different countries. There, the participants first learn more about gender (in)equality, visibility and representation. They look at historical perspectives to get a better understanding of the issues at hand and the general challenges that need to be overcome to create a more equal and just world.

Knowing this, they then receive introductions to diverse art forms - directly by local female artists. They develop their own art projects and reflect on what they have heard and experienced before. Each seminar focuses on a different art form. Participants can work on projects individually or get together in small groups. The decision is entirely up to the participants! The results of the workshops, i.e. the many works of art, will be shown and celebrated at an exhibition in Berlin in December 2023.

BUILDING BLOCKS & TOPICS

The project consists of four main building blocks (travel days included) in which 20 women* from the four countries will take part in :

• Project week in Funchal (Madeira), Portugal, from 19 – 24 April 2024
• Project week in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 3 – 8 June 2024
• Project week in Bucharest, Romania, from 1 – 6 September 2024
• Project Finale with Exhibition in Berlin, Germany, from 13 – 18 November 2024

Each seminar will set a core topic. These will be decided on together with the participants – so it is moved and shaped by their interests. It is a participatory project in which we want to include and involve the participants’ focus at every stage of the way.

Each seminar consists of:

• Topic introductions focusing on gender equality, participation, visibility of women, role models etc.
• an art workshop with a local artist
• time and space for discussing, sharing and creating a safer space for all participants

In each seminar, the participants will have four full days to learn and engage with the group, the topics and the place you are at. Please be aware that it can be quite an intensive project, with programme for approximately 6 hours per day. Of course, there will be time for rest, socialising and getting to know the place after the learning sessions.

The application phase 2024 has already ended.