'Throw Like a Girl' is a collaborative project between women from two worlds: art and the military. Artist Maja Bekan brought them together through an open call, and asked them to reflect on the work and roles of women. This film installation gives an impression of their encounters.
The starting point for this project was the life story of Jeanne Merkus from Utrecht. This social reformer went to Herzegovina in 1875 to join the fight against the Ottoman occupation with her own fighting unit. Initially revered as a heroine, Merkus' role was soon distrusted and forgotten. From a guerrilla fighter, she became an outcast in the public memory of the Balkans, and an insignificant housewife in popular culture. The group tried to imagine what battle this “Dutch Joan of Arc”—in addition to the battle she had chosen—had to engage in with prevailing prejudices. In this way, they also started talking about their own realities.
Over the past few months, the group came together at TENT and on location. Guest presentations and texts sparked intimate conversations. Costumes and a theatrical setting reinforced the realization that the participants together created space for stories that are not always present in their daily work situations. They learned to make space for each other, played a game with feminine codes and tested what different feminist choices can entail. They embraced the role of women as troublemakers and the resilience that lies in friendship.
About Maja Bekan
From an interest in self-organization and self-empowerment, Maja Bekan stages situations in which individuals can form a temporary collective. By making time for each other, connectedness is created, across social divides and different life paths. The audience is involved in this open process through improvised public moments and cinematic impressions.
Project participants:
Gabriela Dávalos Aray (artist, educator)
Darly Benneker (artist, educator and project coordinator)
Aletta van der Eijk (communications manager TENT)
Zosia Nowakowska (designer)
Claudia Redout (Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Military Police, veteran)
Amy van Son (Royal Navy Operational Service Communications Sailor 1, veteran)
Rinke Wagenaar (Captain in the Royal Netherlands Army)
With thanks to the Mondriaan Fund and Stroom