Jun 21, 2023 · Megan Hoetger
Writers’ Camp · Days 1 through 6
Day one in the Bijlmer residency was a day of syncing and settling – syncing with one another and settling into the CBK studio in the Heesterveld Creative Community building. Movement moments set to the rhythm of collective member Smita James’s debut short poetry film The Thing Is (2016).
The next Instagram stories came two days later, on day three, when collective member Alexine Gabriela presented notes on her research into film genres (see BSB’s post Sourcing Inspiration from (Black) Cinema for more details on her presentation, including textual references and film links); and, later in the day, the group watched the recent short film It’s Nice in Here (2022, dir. Robert-Jonathan Koeyers), as well as the music video for I Like Him from Princess Nokia’s 2020 album Everything Sucks. From there, a discussion ensued, which traversed topics ranging from cannibalism to a collective state of hibernation since 1492, concluding with an exploration of zombi’ism through ‘Muzik di Zumbi’ from Curaçao.
During the remaining days of BSB’s first week in the studio, collective members Smita James and Nohely Koeyers took the lead as the group began to process materials through collective notetaking, continued movement sessions and ongoing conversation.
The next Instagram stories came two days later, on day three, when collective member Alexine Gabriela presented notes on her research into film genres (see BSB’s post Sourcing Inspiration from (Black) Cinema for more details on her presentation, including textual references and film links); and, later in the day, the group watched the recent short film It’s Nice in Here (2022, dir. Robert-Jonathan Koeyers), as well as the music video for I Like Him from Princess Nokia’s 2020 album Everything Sucks. From there, a discussion ensued, which traversed topics ranging from cannibalism to a collective state of hibernation since 1492, concluding with an exploration of zombi’ism through ‘Muzik di Zumbi’ from Curaçao.
During the remaining days of BSB’s first week in the studio, collective members Smita James and Nohely Koeyers took the lead as the group began to process materials through collective notetaking, continued movement sessions and ongoing conversation.
Day 1 · ‘Movement momentje’
Day 3 · Cannibalism, hibernation, zombi’ism
Days 4 through 6 · Process(ing) materials