VFest is a multidisciplinary festival celebrating the body, gender and queerness. Together we create a stage for artists that share their vision on intersectional feminism, their body and sexuality.
A day and night full of art, dance, music and performance in a safe space. We discuss injustice, we shed light on hidden beauty, we get inspired, we party! VFest presents: a femme punk installation by Plakboys, dance and body performances by Eleni Ploumi, Thais Di Marco, Ellen Inn Hallberg & Anuschka Loose and Berendine Venemans. ‘Love me by the Hour’, a show by mixed-abled theatre group Speels Collectief. Maren van Cauwenberge & Thom Engels with ‘Mag ik je kussen?’. An exhibition on sexwork and an overwhelming solo show by textile artist Dakota Magdalena Mokhammad. Cult band The Sex Organs, fuzz-punk band The Jackets and the mesmerising theatrical music show by La Piratesse. And of course delicious merch by Kutjeskracht. This year's VFest will be hosted by ‘Flanders' funniest IT consultant’ Iris Costrop.
Join us Saturday 30 November 2024 to celebrate, without shame and full of joy! At De Nieuwe Vorst, Willem II-straat 49, Tilburg
We offer low budget tickets for people in difficult financial situations who can’t afford the regular entrance fee. You can buy this no questions asked, we put trust in honesty. By buying a supporter ticket you also fund a low budget ticket.
“We love the word fluïd
We love her
We love they
And we love him
And no, we don’t have to choose
And yes, that’s ok”
[From the song ‘Boxes’]
LaPiratesse is the performance band of creative all-rounder Inez Wolters.
Inez approaches her songs as visual live clips and uses the stage to protest and to activate. In each song she transforms into a different character with a different extravagant outfit. She takes her audience along into her thoughts, questions and dreams about now and (the day after) tomorrow. She does this in a deeply authentic, personal way, which at the same time manages to touch on universal themes about (gender) equality, femininity, technological and natural revolutions but also about poverty and loneliness. Together with multi-instrumentalists Wouter de Belder, Eva Korse, Willem Heylen and visual artist Sander Verbiest, Inez creates an exceptional theatrical experience, a new universe, with a rich mix of modern classical, jazz and pop-rock, world music, as well as dance, visuals, fashion design and spoken word. The benchmark? Friction, alienation, breaking open your brain and making your heart pound.
Image by Daria Miasoedova
Eleni Ploumi (she/her) is a Greek performer and choreographer based in Tilburg (NL), where she graduated from the Bachelor of Choreography program from Fontys School of Fine Arts in 2016.
Ploumi's artistic pursuits delves into themes of social and political significance, albeit filtered through her personal lens. Beginning with a broad societal or political concept (macro), she internalizes its impact on her own being and body (micro). Subsequently, she explores how this intimate experience can be shared with audiences, thereby bridging back to the macro level once more.
Misslightenment is a physical performance with strong visual elements. In a yet-to-be-written book, narratives unfold through the dynamic interplay of various female personas, utilizing striking overlays of shadow, light, and video. Woven together, creating animated images, the performer and her shadows tell divergent stories, oscillating between reality, fantasy and mythology. Misslightenment is a work about the overshadowing of women's stories, and subsequently bodies, by the male gaze. It delves into how the male gaze ‘produces’ women and their stories and provokes questions on how these interpretations shape today’s continued mistreatment of women.
Thais Di Marco (they/them), a Queer Roma descendant, is a multidisciplinary artist, director and project coordinator originally from São Paulo - Brazil, based in Amsterdam since 2016. Born in a traditional Candomblé community called Redandá, Thais holds the title of Egbomi, denoting a Young Shaman.
In 2018, Thais graduated from DAS Choreography in Amsterdam, having undertaken a research project in Benin - West Africa focusing on post-colonial aesthetics, under the mentorship of artist Romuald Hazoumè. They have studied and collaborated at the intersection of decolonial movements and art, with organizations such as the EZLN guerrilla in Mexico, the independent space Bon Gah in Iran, and the anarcho-feminist movement Mujeres Creando in Bolivia.
Thais has worked on international collaboration projects under the direction of Mia Habib, Libyan/Norwegian artist and activist - promoting community based art practices. Currently, Thais is a fellow research artist at Waag - Future Lab Amsterdam, a guest teacher of Artistic Research at the Masters in Dance program at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, and a granted artist for the 3 Package Deal development program by AFK in collaboration with Framer Framed - Amsterdam.
Thais serves as the director of Stichting The Goldfish Bleeding in a Sea of Sharks, BIXARIA - Queer Brazilian Club Night and CIRCULO - Decolonial resistance, priestessing, chanting and women’s drumming. They have also collaborated with WORM - Rotterdam, The Black Archives, Decolonial Dialogues at UVA, Paradiso, Parallel, Frascati, Veem House, Theater Rotterdam, Tropen Museum, and the Stedelijk Museum.
At VFest, Thais will perform 0UT SPOK3N B$Cht%% - is an experimental verborr4gic performance experience and ongoing research that explores corporeality of Romani women, often labeled as “inappropri4te,” “deb4uched,” and “d4ngerous” - “0utspoken”. The work delves into the concept of “mor4l m4dness,” a term describing the experiences of artists and 4ctivists while facing structures. And honors the 4nti-assimilation and 4nti-absorption contributions of Roma cosmovision. The research was done through a dialogue with artists of Roma descent participating in an “ethnic coming-out” - a collective movement that intends to understand and make visible Roma ancestral legacy in dec0loniality.
Image by Bruno Tenschert
Plakboys is a DJ collective with a mission to amplify the visibility of women+ and non-binary artists in the creative field. Founded by five girls, Plakboys advocates for more diversity in event line-ups and behind the decks. Their events are characterized by a strong sense of community, where BIPOC women and non-binary individuals are given center stage to showcase their talents. With bass-oriented sounds at the core, Plakboys is committed to pushing boundaries and providing a platform for underrepresented voices in the music industry.
Ellen Inn Hallberg and Anuschka Loose are friends, both trained performers as well as makers in the field of dance and performance. Through the collaboration in the spaciousness of VFest they long to support freedom of the body's female and fluid expression. They long for more togetherness and vulnerability.
In their work they process intuition, own lived memories, experimentation and dialogue are keys to find an expression and urgency in the body and design.
Especially when she hasn't been able to live out a feeling and her body’s voice has been mumbled, the other ‘her’ is close through sharing sameness. Weapons of unknown pleasure, peaches, mess and rumors hidden in their bodies multiply to mass and a language through each other, the building of a bridge to ourselves.
Speels Collectief is a diverse, mixed-abled theater company. We strive for a composition of performers, makers and employees with as much variation as possible in terms of age, gender and ethnicity, and our company consists of people with and without (physical/mental/social) disabilities.
From quickies and pure desire to special long nights and intimate relationships. What makes the relationship between sex worker and client unique? Based on the experiences of sex workers and their clients, the performance LOVE ME BY THE HOUR unfolds a much broader picture of sex work. Beyond the cliché of the red light, we turn the spotlight on those for whom intimacy – for whatever reason – is a matter of supply and demand. With red ears, but without blush on the cheeks, this musical movement performance is an ode to the many forms of paid intimacy.
For the third year, we are thrilled to have Kutjeskracht (Anne Exoo, she/her) return with her powerful brand, "Kutjeskracht." By now we consider her our Royal Supplier of PussyPower Merchandise!
During VFest, Anne will sell her unique screen-printed designs, some crafted especially for the festival. The screen prints, T-shirts and other merch will be available for purchase.
But what is "Kutjeskracht"? The literal translation from Dutch would be "Pussy Power." It's a bold and empowering term, celebrating strength and self-expression.
We invite you to come and be part of this unique art experience and join the movement that Anne Exoo embodies with Kutjeskracht. Together, we can break the taboos around sexuality and vulva’s and create a world where everyone can freely express themselves.
Come to VFest and be inspired by Anne Exoo and the power of Kutjeskracht!
I am Dakota Magdalena Mokhammad (she/her), a nomad of many worlds. Born from the blood of a Russian mother and an Afghan father, my roots steeped in the eternal steppes of Kazakhstan. Where the spirit distances itself from the given gender. At the age of twelve, I crossed borders to the Netherlands.
I allow myself to fully immerse in the fabric of existence, in search of who I truly am. In all my works lies a fragment of this story, the protracted journey towards understanding. A symphony of symbols that whisper of forgotten legends and hidden truths. Like an alchemist, I play with the elements of my being. My work is a celebration of the human body and the boundless complexity of the soul. Each material I choose is infused with symbolic meaning, and I approach my work with a profound understanding of their physical qualities and the associations they bring.
I admire the power of transformation, the magic of the mundane, and the beauty of the unexpected. My workplace is a sanctuary, where the boundaries between culture and identity merge. In its shadow, you find the ashes of the past. Here I dance with the spirits of the past and the dreams of the future. Where children of transformation are born. Where every gesture is an act of magic and every word a prayer for eternity.
We are Maren (she/her) and Thom (he/him), two third-year students of the Theater Education department at Fontys. Together, we aim to further develop ourselves as theater makers and create even more performances. In our work, we like to challenge stereotypes created by our patriarchal society, and we do not shy away from heavy subjects. Through a light-hearted approach, we try to present complex themes in an accessible way to the audience. We believe that this lightness brings nuance and helps to tell the story.
With our performances, we aim to offer perspective: we address situations without shouting them in your face, encouraging the audience to reflect without imposing a solution. Our style as a makers' duo is dynamic, raw, sensual, and definitely not too tame.
Last year, we created the performance “Ik wil niet slapen,” (translates to: “I don’t want to sleep”) which was performed at the STORM theater festival, among others. From this performance, a ‘sister’ was born: “Mag ik je kussen?” (translates to: “may I kiss you?”) This specially adapted version for VFest focuses on the influence of trauma on Sexuality.
Cast: Sophie Heuts, Luc Bergman, Ilse Janssen, Linda van den Broek, and Sil Houwen.
Costumes: Lena Schmidhamer.
VFest will be hosted this year by Iris Costrop (they/them) a.k.a. "Flanders’ funniest IT consultant" (not their words, but those of cultural centre c o r s o).
They were launched in the world of stand-up comedy via the Get Up Stand Up programme in 2022 and has enjoyed entertaining audiences with their stories ever since. So buckle up, and let them take you for a ride this VFest.
We are very happy to announce our dear friend and admired artist Berendine Venemans (she/her). She is a creator who explores the emotional boundaries of artistic mediums: performance art, poetry and video work. Her work invites to be felt, rather than ‘understood’.
At VFest she will perform ‘Membraan’. A performance as powerful as it is vulnerable: a physical research into the balance between ‘the personal’ and ‘the outside world’. What do we let in and what do we choose to shut out?
“Hello world, here I am.
There is a membrane between us. How do we relate to what lies beyond us? What is genuine contact? What do we show, what do we hide? Do you appear or disappear in the space that floats between us?”
Berendine’s exploration of deep-seated anxiety, stemming from her personal experiences, serves as a tangible example of her approach. Her exploration of the interaction between rationality, intuition, cognition, and embodiment is a defining feature of herself and her work.
Berendine's website
The Sex Organs were formed in 2014 and instantly became a cult act playing all over Europe at the best Garage Festivals and Clubs causing a wave of rock n roll “sexcitement” – right when it was needed!
The Sex Organs play wild, sweaty trash and roll sending the listener into an explosive climax song after song! This is as primitive as it gets - stand-up drum kit, a guitar and lyrics about the sexual condition of the modern times we live in!
Seven years after their first album "Intergalactic Sex Tourists" The Sex Organs returned to our planet with their second album "We're Fucked" that was released on Voodoo Rhythm Records on 15th March 2024.
Image by Mischa Scherrer
The Jackets are based in Bern, Switzerland, led by the charismatic Jack Torera on vocals and guitar, their energetic performances make each concert unforgettable. With Chris on drums and Samuel on bass, The Jackets form a raw and tight-knit three-piece band that is both raw and direct.
The band's music is a unique blend of their personalities and desire for self-expression. Stripping rock and roll down to its core, they create an authentic and refreshing sound that captures the simplicity and honesty of the genre. Tracks like "Wasting My Time," "Keep Yourself Alive," and "Freak Out" have become anthems for modern times, while maintaining the spirit and roots of garage punk. Blending punk and psychedelic influences from the '60s, their music compels your body to move and their lyrics engage your mind.
The Jackets are a universe of their own. They have been moving forward independently and steadily since their formation in 2007 and have built a large and loyal fan base all over the world.
Image by Marco Roasio