Saturday 18 June | Women in punk in the Netherlands
OCCII | Amstelveenseweg 134 | Amsterdam
Last December, because of an unexpected rise in the coronavirus pandemic, at the last minute we had to cancel the first-ever face to face conference of the Punk Scholars Network the Netherlands at OCCII, Amstelveenseweg 134 1075 XL in Amsterdam with as its main theme Women in punk, replacing it with a short webinar on Punk and venues.
On this Facebook link, you can see our whole December 2021 webinar, except for Minja Sarovic’s film.
We then decided that we would have a conference with Women in punk as its sole theme in spring 2022, when we expected less COVID.
We have now decided there will be a face to face conference on Women in punk in the Netherlands in OCCII on Saturday 18 June. Because of the availability of the DIY OCCII venue, depending on volunteers, starting the conference before 1:30 pm is a problem. Also, having a full weekend Saturday plus Sunday conference, on Women in punk both in the Netherlands and in other countries, is a problem at OCCII.
So, we decided: 18 June Women in punk in the Netherlands. We try to make it accessible on the internet as well.
And, in early December 2022, as part of the worldwide face to face PSN conference (also possible to participate in on the internet), a conference at the VU University in Amsterdam, a full day with as its theme Women in punk, international. We are trying to get a subsidy from VU University for that conference.
On 18 June in OCCII, there will be lectures by researchers and discussions on women in punk in the Netherlands. British scholar/first wave punk musician Helen Reddington will interview four Dutch female musicians, representing four waves in Dutch punk, from 1977 to the 2020s.
There will be a film on women in punk by Helen Reddington and Gina Birch (of the Raincoats).
There will be food at OCCII.
Bands, all including women, will play. We will hear Wick Bambix, the Asbest Boys, Persona Non Data and Stresssysteem.
Door open 13:00
13:30 Welcome from the organisers, and explanation about how the day will run, by Anita Raghunath
13:40 First panel: Women in punk in North America, in the UK and in the Netherlands, parallels and differences. Chair: Rosa Jonker
13:42 Film by Helen Reddington and Gina Birch: Stories from the She-Punks
14:30 Paper by Pauwke Berkers: Punk rock against gender roles (re-revisisted): Women punk performers in the Netherlands, 1976-1982
14:50 Paper by Anita Raghunath and Herman de Tollenaere: Women in Dutch punk, 1976-1982. Figures and forgetfulness
15:10 Paper by Caroline Kaltefleiter (original United States Riot Grrl, now professor at New York State University and Anarchism and Punk book series editor): Priestess of Punk: Exene Cervenka, Anarcha-Feminism, Anti-War Actions, and The Riot Grrrl Connection
15:30 Discussion on this film and these papers
16:00 Coffee/tea break
16:15 Keynote panel: Dutch punk girls, 1977 till today. Chair: Anita Raghunath
Four women, interviewed by Helen Reddington, from first-wave punk woman to very recent one.
One may ask: What are the connections between these four generations of punk women?
First 1977 wave representative in the panel: Terry, bass/vocals in Cheap ‘n’ Nasty; earlier in PVC and Hideous.
Hear Terry play and sing the songs she wrote for the Cheap ‘n’ Nasty Covergirl EP:
Second wave, started late 1980s: Wick, guitar/vocals in Bambix.
Hear and see Wick play and sing this song:
Early 21st-century representative: Andrea, was singer in early 21st century Amsterdam band Fatwa’s.
See and hear Andrea sing in this live video:
2020s representatives (two, as it is the most important wave for the future): Nana, guitarist of the band Shortcuts, founded in 2021, and Flo, bass player in the Blood Bags.
17:25 Some people in the audience may want to say something
17:45 Final words, by Andrea
18:00 Dinner (at the vegan restaurant MKZ of OCCII).
20:00 To concert hall
20:15 Four Bands, all including women. Stresssysteem, Wick Bambix, and Persona Non Data. And Asfalt Boys, not an all-boy band, like Poison Girls were not all-girl.
Read about, and hear, all these four bands here.