News / Events

Event: VULVA! @ Pakhuis de Zwijger Amsterdam

I’ll be one of the guest speakers at VULVA! – Meet-up with art, music and talks about solidarity and unity in the LGBTQI+ scene of Amsterdam.

There will be a small exhibition with my work, and I’ll be selling my work at the event.

FRIDAY 24 MAY, 18.00 – EXPO, Pakhuis de Zwijger Amsterdam

For more info: https://dezwijger.nl/programma/vulva

“Are there any places where you can be openly queer, where you feel safe and represented? The expression 'safe space' remains a tricky one. Queer environments often seem overrepresented by one, and inaccessible to the other communities of trans, women, butch or femme, non-binary, colored and all intersections between them are less represented during the nightlife, but also the business world and during the Pride. We need nights, days, places and people where queer women feel at ease. And most of all, can find each other. What does it take to create more unity, visibility and representation?

What do queer women want to see in order to feel included in Amsterdam Pride? What are the good practices that already exist? The gender gap, feminism and racism have an increasingly prominent role in social debates. Yet we see a lack of solidarity and unity within the LGBTQI+ community. Especially if we look at the scene which involves mostly females.

On this evening we celebrate what’s going well: organizations, parties, front women who inspire in terms of sexuality, representation and mobilization. We also discuss the raw edges: what are the struggles, where is the misunderstanding?

Tonight we come together, from all parts of the town. No matter what age, colour, gender and all that’s in between, to share our stories. Through art, music, talks and of course with a drink or two for the rough edges. Tonight we celebrate!”

The book went to press today!

May 1st 2019

Hi everyone!

Such an exciting day: today The Vulva Gallery Book officially went to press! 

This morning I went to the book printer and we fine tuned the colours of the cover and the illustrations inside – a very precise job. I watched the first sheets of paper coming out of the press, it was so impressive. 

Watch the video and full update on Kickstarter: CLICK

I couldn’t be more excited to finally see how the book is taking shape and can’t wait to share the next steps with you. 

Love,

Hilde 

The Book: New developments!

April 25th 2019

Hi everyone!

I wanted to share a small (but exciting!) update with you: after months of book designing, the book has been sent to the book printer! This takes the process into a new stage; printing and binding the book. From here on there are many small steps involved, and the first one just came in: the print proof to see if there were any big mishaps before it's really sent to print. 

As you can see on the photo below, we found some flaws – all have been corrected now. The next step is starting the printing process, a very exciting moment as from that stage on, nothing can be changed anymore. After printing the books, they will be sent to the binder who will carefully bind the books.

During the process of making this book, I started to realise how many small steps there are involved before a book is brought into the world. Creative and technical steps – all important in their own way to make the most beautiful book possible. I'm really looking forward to this next stage, and I can't wait to share more photos with you!

Have a lovely day!

Hilde 

Finalising the book design & Vulva Quartet Game

March 20th 2019

Hi everyone!

Here's a new update about the book, there's a lot to share! In the past month we've been working very hard on the book design. During this process we went into all the details and realised that in order to make the most beautiful book possible, we needed some extra time to work things out – which will make the book become even more wonderful than I imagined. We’re aiming for the book to be finished and ready for shipping in May. 

A few weeks ago we visited De Monsterkamer, a really great platform where we got lots of information about all kinds of paper, and where we chose the paper for the book and book cover (YAY!!). In the past few weeks we also did a lot of experiments with the layout of the book, we defined the size of the book, we chose the fonts for the book (they are lovely), we did many colour tryouts for the different sections in the book, and we had long talks about what the book cover should look like. This is all still in progress, but I'm positive it's going to be really beautiful and I'm very excited.

I've also been busy painting new vulva portraits and making a video for each portrait, they are all so lovely and I can't wait to ship the portraits to all of you when they're ready. If you haven't been in touch with me about your portrait yet, feel free to email me at thevulvagallery@gmail.com – I have contacted all of you but my email might have ended up in your spam folder (and I'd love to get started on your portrait). 

In the past week I've been busy repainting 41 portraits (!). A selection of the vulva portraits are going to be printed bigger in the book, so they needed to be scaled up. Some of you might know that many of the portraits I paint for the gallery are actually really tiny (4 cm / 1.5 in), and those were too small to scale up – so they needed an update. It was a lot of work, but they all look so much more detailed now and I am very happy with the result. 

And the Vulva Quartet Game design is finished! This week I'll be sending the game design to the printer, I can't wait to see how it turns out and share the first photo with all of you <3

I'm very much looking forward to what the upcoming weeks will bring, and I'll share a new update with you soon again!

Warmest regards,

Hilde 

Developments in the book design & Vulva Quartet Game

February 13, 2019

Hi everyone!

Here's a new update from my side, as there have been some wonderful developments in the past few weeks. We've had a few meetings with the book designers so far, and the first design proposal has been shared. It's slowly starting to look like a real book, which is very exciting! It's a very fun but also weird feeling how a year of hard work finally starts to take shape. 

Also the Vulva Quartet Game has had its first trial rounds during a few game nights! We discussed the categories and the informative content on each card, and I received some very useful feedback (and we had lots of fun playing the first trial round - it's going to be such a fun game!). 

And finally I've started painting the vulva portraits that have been pledged during the Kickstarter campaign. So far I've painted 15 portraits - so 'only' 45 more to go :) I'm making a time lapse video of each portrait, so each individual I'm portraying can view how their portrait came about. 

I can't wait to see what the upcoming weeks will bring, and I'm really looking forward to sharing more about the book with you soon again!

Warmest regards,

Hilde 

Update: starting with the book design & game

January 14, 2019

Hi everyone!

First of all: Happy New Year! I'm happy to share another update with you as there has been some great progress with the book. Last week I've finalised the text with the help of my wonderful editor Jo, and everything is ready for the next stage: the book design. 

Last Thursday I had a meeting with the graphic design duo to exchange thoughts about the look and feel of the book. Sanne and Rémi will be working on the book design in the upcoming weeks, and I'm very excited to see how my ideas will translate into a real book with their help. 

I've also been working on the Vulva Quartet Game; the first version of the game will be finished this week. And then it's time to play the first test round with some friends, to find out what the game feels like and if there are any adjustments to be made. 

Many exciting things, I can't wait to share more with you soon! 

Warmly,

Hilde

New update & Happy Holidays!

December 22, 2018

Hello everyone!

Three weeks after the Kickstarter campaign has ended I'd like to share a small update with you. In the past weeks I've been working hard on the text for the book, selecting personal stories and portraits, and fact-checking everything with the help of some wonderful sexual health experts. Last Monday I've sent all the text to the editor - another step closer to realising the book!

Yesterday I made the book available for pre-ordering on my website (click here!) for everyone who missed the Kickstarter campaign. The Vulva Quartet Game is available for pre-ordering as well! 

Now I'll be enjoying a few days off during the holidays, and in January I'll be continuing working on the book again. This is when the graphic design duo will start with the book design - I'm very excited about this and can't wait to see the book taking its final shape. 

For now I'm wishing you all wonderful holidays, and a very happy New Year!

Love,
Hilde 

The Vulva Gallery Book - Kickstarter Campaign Successfully ended!

December 1, 2018

Hi everyone!

I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for supporting this project and being part of this. In a month time, together with the help of 1281 individuals from all around the world we raised over €56,000 - such a wonderful step towards realising The Vulva Gallery Book, and of course the Vulva Quartet game 🙂

Now the actual creation of the book can start! More updates on this will follow soon.

Thank you all,

Hilde ♥️

SPUI25

On Friday, November 11th 2017, I will be one of the guests at SPUI25. Here I will be speaking about The Vulva Gallery, and my work will be shown.

The whole evening will be in English. Feel free to join and have a chat afterwards! 

Friday, July 7th - Sunday July 16th
 

Starting today, during the upcoming week, The Vulva Gallery will be exhibited as part of the Opium TorenkamerEXPO @ VondelCS.

A series of illustrations from The Vulva Gallery will be shown, including two larger vulva paintings 💕

Feel free to stop by and say 'hi!' today, it's going to be a lovely evening! :)

For more information, see the FACEBOOK EVENT.