Together with young women from Graz, British artist Phoebe Davies opens a temporary, feminist nail bar at the festival centre.
German and English language
Arche Noah 11, 8020 Graz
Palais Attems, Sackstraße 17, 8010 Graz
Free of charge
Information and registration
Elsa Chinese
chinese@steirischerherbst.at
p +43 664 24 500 77
How to whistle back – Methods, tools and one-liners.
The workshop shows how women can defy harassment on the street.
Girls raise their voices
An evening about the activities, campaigns and initiatives of women’s and activist groups from all around the city.
Between the sheets – All questions allowed.
A session in sexual education on relationships, consent and sexualised imagery.
For years British artist Phoebe Davies has been exploring role models and the everyday relationship of young women to feminism and gender inequality. “Influences” – a project between nail studio and feminist salon – evolved in this context. A meeting place where the focus is not just on beautiful fingernails and good style, but also on the question of how political pop culture mainstream can be. For the project, Phoebe Davies collaborated with young women in Graz to research social, political and very personal stories, experiences and, above all, biographies of women who serve as role models beyond the mainstream.
They developed a series of printed nail designs (or nailwraps) on the basis of their findings. These fingernail-sized portraits will be available free of charge at the temporary nail bar in the festival centre. During the manicure and application of the nailwraps, the young women from Graz talk about the history and significance of the woman depicted on the particular nailwrap, but also about their own experiences and attitudes. The nail studio also serves as a venue for talks and discussions with invited guests.
By and with Phoebe Davies
With Iris Forstenlechner, Astrid Groß, Nadine Nebel, Berlinda Perchthaler, Gisi Sauseng, Julija Schener et al.
Production Sam Trotman
Artistic assistance and research Andrea Günther
Design Tom Merrel
Production Artsadmin
Supported by the National Lottery & Arts Council England
In collaboration with Mafalda, tag.werk, Girl Gangs Over Graz & Nail bar French Kiss
steirischer herbst
Head of Project Management Dominik Jutz
Project Management Elsa Chinese
Phoebe Davies (GB)
Phoebe Davies was born in 1985 in Cardiff. She lives and works in London and Southerndown, a village in South Wales. From 2004 to 2007 she studied at the Wimbledon College of Art, and in 2008 presented her first performance collaborations in London, Bristol and Glasgow. Performance is however only one part of her creative repertoire: Davies has continually reinvented her art. Thus her biography also includes forays into installation art (“Elope to the Hills”, 2012), film (“In the Background”, 2012) or music (“AMP”, 2014). Davies is currently working with the British Council on projects in South Africa and the USA.
