ArtMix artists Noé Duboutay (he/they), Darja Linder (she/her), Sophia Lökenhoff (they/them) and Hannah Mevis (she/her) invite you to “doing/becoming Gossip”.

Until the 14th century, “I’m going out with my gossip” was a conventional statement used by predominantly assigned females at birth and femme identifying individuals to describe that they were meeting up with trusted others. In the context of the time, “gossip” described not only friends, but generally people who shared wisdom about the community, health issues and physical self-determination, as well as stories, and thus made important contributions to the well-being of the community.

With the rise of capitalism and the associated degradation of “female” knowledge, the meaning of the word changed: from the 16th century onwards, “gossip” was understood to mean the act of informal chatter. Today, “gossip” continues to embody the “devaluation of women’s (assigned females at birth and femme identifying individuals) personality and work, especially domestic work…”*

In the spirit of the original meaning of the word, the four artists currently in residence at Neimënster, invite you to an afternoon/evening centered on the interweaving of memories and the political act of exchanging knowledge. You are welcome to get to know the works of Noé, Darja, Sophia and Hannah and to indulge in gossiping over a drink.

* Silvia Federici, Witches, Witch-Hunt, and Women, Chapter 5: On the meaning of “Gossip”