Janine El Khawand is a cultural organizer, illustrator, educator and activist based in Beirut, Lebanon. She is the co-founder of Space27– a feminist artist-run space and collaborative work studio that aims to challenge who gets to have a voice in the art world, working towards a more diverse and inclusive art scene.
At Space27, art is used as a tool for change and activism rather than a commodity. Space27 has organically grown to become a safe space for gender and sexual minorities, non-citizens and artists with less access to established production and exhibition spaces and resources.
Janine’s work falls mostly within Relational Aesthetics, existing at the intersection of art and social change. Her latest projects include:
Another Dinner Ruined (2017): an ongoing film project that joins artists and activists – feminist killjoys – around a dinner table that they had themselves constructed and lets the magic happen.
(This project is a collaboration with Myra El Mir, Elsy Hajjar, and Feminist Collective No Name)
Pussy Cupcakes (2017): a workshop where women and non-cis men decorate (vegan) cupcakes into edible portraits of cunts, while discussing gender embodiment, sexuality, and menstruation.
(This project is a collaboration with Myra El Mir and the participants)
Albi Ay! Ay! (2017- Work In Progress): a party! (I mean immersive participatory multimedia installation) based on the work of Maha Abdul Wahab, an Arab forgotten sex-positive singer/composer from the 60’s. The project questions our understanding of “traditional values”, how our society has constructed a more conservative approach to sex, and how we talk about sexuality today in art and pop culture.
(This project is a collaboration with Myra El Mir)
