Rethinking sexualities in heritage spaces | Amsterdam University Press Journals Online
2004
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Volume 27, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 1388-3186
  • E-ISSN: 2352-2437
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Abstract

Abstract

This article discusses the potential of heritage spaces to interrogate sexualities in the context of emerging scholarly debates about, and professional practices of queerness and heritage. The discussion is theoretically contextualized at the intersection between heritage studies and activism, sexuality studies and queer theory. It revolves around the Dutch Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale, showcasing melanie bonajo’s installation , commissioned by the Mondriaan Fund. I discuss the artist’s work through the lenses of post-porn, eco-sexuality, and pleasure activism as conceptual frames and postures that complement ongoing discussions on queering heritage by providing broader representations of different sexualities in terms of modes of desire and pleasure. I will also highlight how these frames incorporate an anti-capitalist lens that speaks to contemporary pressing challenges, such as isolation and exclusionary models of intimacy. bonajo’s approach will emerge as providing renewed perspectives in relation to the debate surrounding identity labels and their limitations; a discussion that causes division even within LGBTQIA+ groups. I will reflect on my own interpretation of bonajo’s installation to present a critical analysis of the exhibition and its potential effects. As the exhibition clearly emphasizes a focus on embodiment as learning modality, my discussion concludes by highlighting some limitations of institutional heritage spaces, as they remain normative environments in relation to the potential to explore the erotic in sensorial ways.

© Nicole Moolhuijsen. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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2024-04-01
2024-05-03
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Rethinking sexualities in heritage spaces
TvGend 27, 19 (2024); https://doi.org/10.5117/TVGN2024.1.003.MOOL
/content/journals/10.5117/TVGN2024.1.003.MOOL
/content/journals/10.5117/TVGN2024.1.003.MOOL
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Keyword(s): melanie bonajo; museum activism; post-porn; queer heritage; sexualities

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