Barbiefreie Zone goes public!

1,000 Euro Prize 2009

Država: Avstrija

Regije: Vorarlberg

Področja dejavnosti: Neformalno izobraževanje, Enakopravnost med spoloma, Izobraževanje odraslih

Lastnik projekta: Mädchenzentrum Amazone

Odgovorna oseba: Mag.a Amanda Ruf M.A.

Spletna stran: Weblink

What is it about?
It is the images in our minds that direct us and determine our communication but we are often not aware of them. In the Barbie-Free Zone Goes Public! project based in Vorarlberg in western Austria, Barbie dolls, which have been on the market for fifty years now, are used to illustrate the position of women in society and politics. In order to deal with simplified images of women, in 2008 girls and professional women worked together to create a professional exhibition concept, which is linked with political and feminist educational work in the best sense. Predominant images of women are questioned over the course of ten stages in the exhibition, including “Barbie doesn’t work. All about instilled femininity” or “Barbie is willing. All about power and sexuality.” As peers, the girls guide visitors around the exhibition. In the meantime, the exhibition has also been held in other places, mainly within the state of Vorarlberg but also in Vienna and Switzerland.
Pohvala žirije
In 2009, the jury awarded the project a prize of €1000 for “intervening both on an individual and on a structural-political level”.