Donja Hota
For Donja Hota, Enkidu brings together the artists Betina Abi Habib, Leila Anderson, Ana Vilela Da Costa, Yasmine Deroui, Line Mertens, Arzu Saglam, Nadia Lauro and Alma Saray. Gathered around the legacy of feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi, they weave themselves into a collective identity called Donja Hota.
As Donja Hota they reflect upon a life of dissidence:
jumping on the possibility of stubborn idealism,
preparing to fight for the cause of pleasure,
amplifying the root system,
examining the surreality of the tools we are given,
pulling strands of freedom from their body archive,
tearing at society’s foundational illusions,
generating an unfolding territory.
Donja Hota’s name mirrors that of Don Quixote. They are mistaken for a hero and a fool. Rather than chasing windmills, however, Donja Hota shares a life, as it can be lived.
"Real life needs both art and activism"
– interview with Line Mertens
• Enkidu Khaled is a theatre maker and performer. He studied theatre in Baghdad and at DasArts in Amsterdam and now lives and works in Brussels. Having lived in both the Middle Eastern and European worlds, Khaled uses theatre to challenge the clichés and fantasies that both worlds have about each other. He has previously appeared in Kaaitheater's programme with God 99 and Tank Tink/One.
from and with Betina Abi Habib, Leila Anderson, Ana Vilela Da Costa, Yasmine Deroui, Enkidu Khaled, Line Mertens, Arzu Saglam, Alma Saray | visual installation Nadia Lauro | light design Luc Schaltin | textual response Joachim Robbrecht | process visualsation Enrica Camporesi | artistic inspiration Edit Kaldor | technical support Hamdan Saray | video work Dhyaa Joda | armour knitting Chloé Courcelle | movement tips Keyna Nara | production Platform 0090 / Enkidu Khaled | coproduction Kaaitheater, De Brakke Grond, C-Takt, Het Laatste Bedrijf | with the support of the Flemish Community, Tax Shelter measure of the Belgian Federal Government and Gallop Tax Shelter
