This evening offers a diverse and unfiltered insight into sex work. Discover how sex work spaces operate, the choices and challenges involved, and how the people working there use their bodies, intimacy, and fantasies in their practice.
Programme
18:50 — 19:40 | Screening: Sex work Shorts: Three short films offer different perspectives:
HOUSE OF WHORESHIP (Holly Bates, Australië, 2023, 15′, English with French subtitles)
When brothel worker Violet returns to work post break-up to find her recent ex-girlfriend hustling the same shift, she must make the choice between avoidance and vulnerability in order to make her month’s rent.
IRRESISTIBLE (Barbara Kleinhamplová & Miss Velvet, Mexico, 2021, 20′, English with French subtitles)
Relationships in BDSM are centred around the issue of consent. The dominant and the submissive both have to agree beforehand on what their roles are going to entail. In role play, the actors follow a specific scenario based on the fantasies they wish to fulfil. Together they work to bring their yearnings to life, although there’s also another, lingering question: do these short-lived escapes from everyday reality have an impact on the actors’ actions after the role play ends? Can the play influence how the „slaves“ approach women and members of minorities afterwards in their daily lives? The story of Mistress Velvet introduces us to BDSM as a sphere of subversion through which an individual can bring about a broader societal change.
PRIVATE CHAT (Joe Bowden, Canada, 2020, 12′, English with French subtitles)
In an attempt to up her game, a young woman purchases some one-on-one time with a webcam model. When she decides to reveal her true identity, the two of them have a conversation about intimacy, desire, and which angles best showcase your ass. Private Chat is a scintillating window into the voyeuristic world of cam modelling, challenging the preconceived notions and stigma around sex work.
20:00 — 21:00 | Panel: Bodies at work – exploring sex work spaces
What ideal brothel do sex workers dream of? Where does sex work take place in Belgium? What is the difference between working in a window, a massage parlour, a love hostel at home or anywhere else?
In this round-table, UTSOPI, Boys project and sex workers will discuss issues and perspectives about sex work places in Belgium.
21:15 — 22:05 | Live performances
Olga Kalachnikova, Marianne Chargois, Butchiboux, and Javal Lacroix share their work experiences, emotions, and intimacy with humor, vulnerability, and a bit of kinky philosophy.
Practical Information
An evening-long program with a panel discussion, short films and performances
Thursday, 27 November, 18:30 — 22:15, during Muhka Late (the museum will exceptionally remain open until 11:00 pm)
On the stage in the exhibition The Associations of Pauline Curnier Jardin
Free entrance (museum and event)
No reservation required
This evening is presented by UTOPSI and organized by invitiation of Muhka, in collaboration with SNAP Festival.
muhka.be/activities/my-wonderful-whorehouse
Artists: UTSOPI, Olga Kalachnikova, Marianne Chargois, Butchiboux, Javal Lacroix
