24/01/2018
Dear all,
For the upcoming Let's talk about water event on the 10th of February, IHE staffmember, Emanuele Fantini is looking for musicians to perform during the movie breaks. Are you a musician (and from one of the Nile bordering countries) than we are looking for you! Please contact E. Fantini more information ([email protected])
Good news: For our event on Saturday 10 February 2018 we found the perfect location, namely the Falie Begijnhof Theater at the Rietveld 49, a special place with an inspiring genius loci (the spirit of the place). In the late Middle Ages you could find a beguinage (begijnhof) here; an architectural complex where women lived and worked together as spiritual sisters in a religious commune. Many men were killed in wars and expeditions, so there was a large surplus of single women. Many girls stayed single because their parents could not cough up a dowry. Meanwhile, the country suffered looting by crusaders and mercenaries. Single women could only end up in monasteries for safety and security, but the scarce women's convents quickly became overcrowded. That is why single women took matters into their own hands and sought refuge in beguinages, where they found safety, independence and freedom. In this sense, the medieval beguine movement was a forerunner of the women’s lib in the sixties of the 20th century.
The name of the Falie Begijnhof Theater refers to this past. At the Rietveld the beguines wore a veil and the old Dutch word for veil is 'falie'. A well-known inhabitant of this beguinage was Geertruida van Oosten, a girl of poor origin who worked as a maid for a wealthy family. When she did not work, she and her girl friends Lielta and Dievera visited taverns and dance venues. With this trio they sang as street artists on bridges and street corners. After the three girls sowed their wild oats, they put on a veil and continued their lives in the beguinage at the Rietveld.
