Last week, Mona Thijs and Zindzi Tillot Owusu from Belgium came to Leeuwarden to go in residence together with Charlotte Westra and Jaimy Hindriks for De Verwonderkamer in Podium Explore.

deBuren and Explore the North invited these young Dutch and Belgian poets and creators to engage with Ella Wassenaer, a versatile Frisian writer whose work often features remarkable women in leading roles. In 1959, she embarked on an experiment with Reade Runen as the first (and only?) female Frisian poet, following in the footsteps of the Vijftigers. Like many female writers of her time, Ella faced harsh criticism and was excluded from the literary canon.

The participants in the residency project De Verwonderkamer aim to lift her out of oblivion. How? You can see for yourself on November 8 in Brussels at deBuren and during the Explore the North Festival 2024!

De Verwonderkamer is a collaboration between deBuren and Explore the North.