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" What is Ladyfest?

Ladyfest is a platform for cultural and political activities of women, queers, transgenders, intersex folk: a gathering for LADIES OF ALL GENDERS for whom it is often not so obvious to find a platform for their (creative) work. It is a D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) event. It is organized by volunteers in their spare time as well as on a non-profit-level. Working together and sharing ideas-the whole process of organizing this event and the idea of community-is as much part of Ladyfest as the event itself.
Furthermore, important elements are exchange and discussion which will be given room to develop within workshops as much as the aspect of celebrating and partying together with/to the music of "female"/queer/transgender bands or DJs. All of this is supposed to strenghten feelings of common interests and goals and encourage Ladies to get active themselves. We encourage networking within the framework of Ladyfest.
With the program, we will offer an as wide variety of Lady Culture Deluxe as possible: from exhibitions to concerts, from cultural philosophical and political discussions and films to partying. Generally separated spheres, such as cultural, political, film, music or even theoretical analyses and discussions and practical skill sharing shall both collide and interconnect. No matter if someone just wants to pop in or get fully involved - everything is possible. Ladyfest is addressed to everybody, not only biological women.

Herstory of Ladyfest

"Love Rock - Revolution Girl Style Now" was the slogan which bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile and Heavens to Betsy (pre-Sleater-Kinney)presented themselves with to the public at the International Pop Underground Convention in Olympia, USA in 1991 as 'Riot Grrrls' . This has been an
important reaction to male dominance in the Punk/Hardcore scene which had been accepted without resistance for far too long by which female voices got louder in the protest against their maginalization within the Punk/Hardcore Scene. This scene of musicians, writers, DJs and activists that were connected through an extensive network, expanded in the course of the 1990s.
From these roots, the idea of Ladyfest emerged in the year 2000 which was set up in this year for the first time in Olympia. The term 'Riot Grrrl' was replaced by the term 'Lady' which expresses the maturity, self-confidence, and respect of a life experience which has grown throughout the years.
Self-determination replaces the making visible of the victim's position as a (previously acclaimed) main goal. At the same time, the post-feminist longing for the deconstruction of the bipolar gender system and forced hetero normativity was incorporated as a useful idea. The resistance against automatic and biological gender assignment became an important demand within the context of Ladyfest.

Many other Ladyfests followed after the 2000 Ladyfest in Olympia: the idea disseminated in the course of the years from Djakarta, across Amsterdam, Belgium, London and Melbourne, to Germany. In the last couple of years, such events were happening in Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig and Esslingen. In 2005, apart from Ladyfest Nürnberg, there were/will be Ladyfests in cities such as Berlin, Dresden, Bielefeld and Mannheim as well as, of course, in other countries.

Ladyfest Nürnberg

The ignition that kindled the idea of Ladyfest in Nürnberg, was Tine Plesch, to whom this Ladyfest is dedicated. She has been constantly encouraging, honest and continually present - in the media such as radio z, testcard or intro as well as in nightlife in countless talks with lots of people over a glass sof wine. We miss her forceful, humorous and always interested way to take care of things as both a mentor and a friend. We will celebrate this Ladyfest in remembrance of the anniversary of her death.

The organizers of Ladyfest Nürnberg got together as motley crowd of women who partially have been active as organizers of other events, partially are entering complete unknown territory with their engagement. These are women who are active at Desi, Bildwechsel, Musikverein and Café at K4, Radio Z and many many other fields whom we will introduce elsewhere on this website.
The venue Ladyfest Nürnberg will take place at is K4, Königsstr. 93, 90402 Nürnberg, right across the street from the main train station.
Route description etc. will be uploaded soon!" (http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=3708499...)

Location

Nürnberg
Germany
49° 26' 48.12" N, 11° 4' 27.1884" E
Date: 
12/16/2005 - 12/18/2005
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Topic: 
Ladyfest