The Brabanter - Van Beha naar Aha!

Cover illustration for issue #49 of The Brabanter, a project inspired by the iconic covers of The New Yorker aimed to feature the stories of Noord Brabant, told by artists within the province.

This piece, titled “Van Beha naar Aha!,” (from bra to aha) after the 1978 exhibition that took place at the Hogeschool Tilburg alongside the arbeid - vrouw - gezin (work - woman - family) convention. Three female artists who wanted to address the subordination of women at the school were met with threats to ban the exhibition by the male management because they felt the exhibition, which featured a curtain out of bra’s and displayed menstrual products, was indecent.

This resulted in a large group f women protesting the ban by singing this to the management: ‘In deze heilige hallen wordt niet gemenstrueerd, in deze heilige hallen wordt wel gecensureerd, in deze heilige hallen wordt daarom gedemonstreerd’ (‘There is no menstruation in these sacred halls, we are censored in these sacred halls, therefore there is demonstration in these sacred halls’”.