WOEKER: film, workshops and discussion on gender

WOEKER brings short films, workshops, and a panel discussion to the M HKA, in collaboration with Antwerp Queer Arts Festival (AQAF) and on the occasion of Transgender Awareness Week. The film program is freely accessible. For the workshops and the panel discussion, you must reserve separately via the links with each component. Filmprogramma Vrijdag 20, Saturday 21, and Sunday 22 November, 11:00–18:00. Auditorium, floor +3. During the three days, AQAF and M HKA together present a continuous program of short films in the auditorium. Free, walk-in admission. Mordant painting workshop Patches of resilience: initiation to mordant painting Saturday, November 21, 11:00–13:00. Floor +6. Language: English. Patches of resilience. A two-hour introduction to ‘mordant painting’ – a technique halfway between painting and natural dyeing. In this, queer identities are interwoven with the tenacity of plants in urban landscapes. The workshop is taught by Benjamin Huynh, whose work can also be seen in the group exhibition at Het Bos. Reserve your free place Panel: Understanding the anti-gender movement in Europa Zaterdag 21 November, 14:00–15:00. Auditorium, floor +3. What is the anti-gender movement and why is it gaining ground throughout Europe? What impact does this have on trans persons, LGBTQIA+ rights, and the cultural sector? And what strategies can we develop to resist its influence and build solidarity? Join Rylan Verlooy, Rémy Bonny, Joppe De Campeneere, and Marcia Poelman for a conversation moderated by Marion Wasserbauer, in which you will explore the forces behind the anti-gender movement, its political and cultural impact, and the ways in which we can respond through activism, art, and collective action. Reserve your free place Zine workshop CoZine: Semiotics & Semantics on Fascism Zondag 22 November, 14:00–17:00. Reading room, ground floor. Language: English. A workshop surrounding collective reading and collage-making, organized by the CoZone Collective. How does fascism shape language, meaning, and the way we understand the world? And how can we reclaim these signs and meanings? In this three-hour workshop, the Brussels-based, independent political and queer collective CoZone Collective invites participants to examine the language and symbols employed by authoritarian and fascist structures to control, exclude, and erase. Using CoZine n°1: Semiotics & Semantics of Fascism, the workshop starts with a shared archive of texts, images, definitions, and other material. Through collective reading and conversation, participants explore how language and systems of meaning can be used to restrict the existence of certain groups, and how these mechanisms can be challenged. In the second part, participants put this material to use in a collective act of appropriation. Through collage techniques, they cut, combine, and transform words and images, formulating their own visual responses to the questions addressed during the workshop. The resulting collages are scanned and compiled into a printed ‘zine’ – a collaborative publication that captures the ideas, perspectives, and creations from the session. A space for collective reflection, critical imagination, and creative resistance. Reserve your free place The sixth floor is accessible by elevator.