Influences

G
Meeting Point
P
Graz

Together with young women from Graz, British artist Phoebe Davies opens a temporary, feminist nail bar at the festival centre.

26/09 – 28/09 &
01/10 – 03/10, from 14.00


Festival centre

 

German and English language

By and with Phoebe Davies

No registration is required.
Participation is free of charge.

For years artist Phoebe Davies has been exploring female role models and the everyday attitude of young women to feminism and gender inequality. With total everyday pragmatism in workshops with a wide range of communities and groups. Against this backdrop “Influences” was developed as an art project and meeting place, where the focus is not just on beautiful fingernails and smart style, but also around the question of how political the pop cultural mainstream can be. For the project, Davies collaborates with young women in Graz to research social, political and personal stories, experiences and, above all, biographies of women who serve as female role models beyond Beyoncé and Pink.
On the basis of their findings they will develop printed nail designs (or nailwraps). These fingernail-sized portraits will be offered at the temporary nail bar in the festival centre. During the manicure and application of the nailwraps, the women from Graz will provide information about the history and significance of the woman depicted on the particular nailwrap, but also about their own experiences and attitudes. In addition, Phoebe Davies and the participants will also run an informal salon in the nail bar’s waiting area, where they will invite guests to discussions and short talks. The project has already been realised at such renowned venues as Tate Britain, has also featured in magazines including Vogue and for the first time is being staged in the German-speaking world.