ladyfest liège 2003

Ladyfest is a non-profit DIY feminist festival that aims to support art, music, activism and projects by females. It can have a wide range of activities including bands (all kinds of music styles), performance (spoken word, theatre, poetry, dance, etc), film, workshops, discussions, actions, DJs and visual art exhibitions. Each Ladyfest has its own focus and goals. But all of them try to break the barriers between the genders, show female talents and create a space where all feel welcome.

Where did it all begin?

In the early nineties in a town called Olympia in America, a group of women and girls tried to redefine and reinvent feminism. They started (punk) bands, wrote zines (little self-made magazines or booklets), got on stage to do a performance piece and created all kinds of art. They organised meetings, actions and conventions. They were called “riot grrrls”. These riot grrrls had an enormous influence, not only on the punk scene. Very soon they did not only consist of females anymore, but all genders got involved. A few years after Riot Grrrl spread all over the USA, Europe got interested too. Local chapters and collectives popped up and girls started their own bands and projects.
In the summer of 2000, the first Ladyfest ever was held in Olympia by a group of riot grrrls and feminist women. It was so successful and inspiring that the next year 5 different Ladyfests took place: Ladyfest Glasgow (Scotland), Ladyfest Midwest (Chicago), Ladyfest East Hampton, Ladyfest East (NYC) and Ladyfest Indiana (Bloomington). In 2002 the amount of Ladyfest was even larger and kept growing. That was also the summer that Ladyfest Leuven took place in Belgium.

Why organise an event of women's art/music/activism?

Firstly, Ladyfest aims to create some balance in the still male-dominated music scene. Especially at punk and hardcore concerts, a female musician, let alone an all-female band, is rare. Also female artists are still considered “another” category from the “normal, neutral art” made by men. We want to offer a space to show women’s art and music because it deserves to heard and seen. It is in no way inferior to men’s art and music. Our goal is equality.

Secondly, women see and experience a great deal of violence and misogyny in their lives. Not only, but also at rock concerts. The last Woodstock edition was probably one of the most extreme examples. That’s why we want Ladyfest to be a safe place where everyone feels welcome and can have fun. We want to create an alternative and inspire other people to get involved in a “grrrl movement”. In the end we hope to go further and beyond a “Lady”fest.

Thirdly, we want to tell people that the word “feminism” is not a negative term. It means anti-sexism, not reverse sexism. It means including women, not excluding men. We also want to show how necessary feminism still is nowadays. Ladyfest is just our little contribution to fight sexism. We also decided that if we make any profit, we’ll donate it to a feminist organisation or good cause.

Lastly, I need to make the remark that Ladyfest is a trans-inclusive festival. Transgendered and genderqueer artists are as much encouraged to show their work than “women-born-women”. We do not want to exclude anyone. We would like to look beyond gender, question the importance of terms like “female” and “male” and not think in a binary gender system.

What can you expect this year?

Ladyfest Belgium will be organised in Liège and the program will look like this:

Friday October 3rd:
Nudes (FR): experimental punk
Sleepy Lili (B): all-girl sad-core duo from Brussels
De Fatwa's (NL): fast feminist punk
Unkind ("crust hc")*
Remains Of The Day ("crust with dual vocals (m/f) with violin")*
+ a self-defence workshop for women (trans-inclusive)
+ DJ Kool Strings (B)

*On Friday we co-operate with a collective (SPMB) from Liège. They book 2 bands (Unkind and Remains Of The Day) and we work together with them.

Saturday October 4th:
Lady!Die (NL): scream-core
Happy Home Makers (FR): mélo-trash riot
Fuck Finger (PL): Polish @-feminist crust core
Harakiri (B): clitpunk with members of De Bossen
De Bossen (B): the well-known trashpop band from Antwerp
+ Workshops about zines and radical cheerleading
+ Performance: spoken word, theatre and radical cheerleading by Bunnies On Strike (NL)
+ DJ Kool Strings (B)
+ maybe some feminist activism

During both days there will be an exhibition of the work of 7 artists: (Sara 's Jegers - Gender Fact Files (B), Coline - riot grrrl clothing (B), D.D. - graphic art & drawings (B), Lilith - drawings, music and surprises (IT/FR), Nudes - mixed media (FR), M-Dea' - photography (B) and Nina - graphic art (B)).

Where and when will all this take place?

October Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th 2003

La Zone
Rue Méan, 27
4020 Liège - Luik - Lüttich
http://web.wanadoo.be/lazone
Tel: + 32 (0)4 341 07 27
Fax: + 32 (0)4 337 48 18

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)