Hannelise – HANNE LISE THOMSEN

THE MARIA PROJECT – PUBLICATION, 2022

The maria project - 2022

Publication

The publication is part of my contribution to The Maria Project curated by Matthias Borello. Based at Maria Church in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, the project aims to create social and ethical models for dialogue, gatherings and society at large by exploring the space provided and created by the church and visual arts.

The publication includes a series of narrative and visual representations of different locations of the church neighbourhood. These include a shelter for the homeless, a fix room for drug users, a centre for women sex workers, a local clinic for the homeless, and the church’s own drop-in centre and weekly soup kitchen.

I have been in close dialogue with the users and staff of each place in order to portray their lives, listening to the personal experiences and stories that form the core of the publication.

BILLBOARD ISTANBUL, 2020

Billboard project

BILLBOARD ISTANBUL 2020 was a two-week long exhibition in the public space of Istanbul that brought together and exhibited 115 Turkish, Moroccan and Nordic contemporary female artists in Istanbul. The billboards were full of photographic images by the female artist – raising awareness and encouraging public debates on gender issues, as well as bringing contemporary art to a wider audience of all genders and ages.

BILLBOARD ISTANBUL 2020 provided a more prominent, public site for very different stories and images than the advertising that dominates the streets of many cities worldwide. The project gave women the opportunity to express themselves on their own terms, and made the city more open and creative city – for everyone. The aim was to build bridges between cultures and to challenge our ideas around urban space, gender and identity. The billboards were an important statement, making the work of women artists from Turkey, Morocco and Scandinavia visible.

The project was launched in collaboration with curator Lise Grüner Bertelsen and graphic designer Jeanne Betak.