Queertopia is a conversion machine: no matter what sexual orientation someone enters with, they emerge queer. Because in this imagined parallel reality created by the makers, sexual orientation is a choice.

This immersive experience magnifies the public discourse surrounding love and sexuality. In this alternate world, the LGBTQ+ lobby is thriving, and its ‘propaganda’ has permeated every layer of society. The movement introduces a new method of conversion. As a participant, one has the chance to rediscover themselves by stepping into the conversion machine.

What happens when a world is imagined in which love and attraction are not defined, and love is no longer part of a political agenda? What remains is the realization that our diversity is our strength—that neither ourselves nor others need to be fully understood or categorized. In ambiguity, there is greater freedom.

Especially for Just Peace Festival, Luit Bakker and Werkplaats van de Woestijne, in collaboration with The Grey Space, present a museum-style version of Queertopia.

The closing event centered on the theme of collectively imagining and building queer futures, with a particular focus on perspectives related to safety, migration, community, and joy. The program includes performances by Kai Mata, a queer artist and activist from Indonesia and writer and performer Michael Love Michael followed by a panel discussion. The evening closed with the collective creation of a Queer Manifest, a poetic and radical vision for the future.

House Guests is a program in which The Grey Space invites transdisciplinary makers who actively seek collaborations with other knowledge domains and are willing to share their artistic process and test a prototype of a project with an audience. The program facilitates the interaction between a work, the space and the audience, often operating in between a black box and white cube. Each House Guest has a week-long mini-residency, culminating in a public event.

Photos by Justine Ellul.

In Queertopia, the artistic approaches of Luit Bakker and Bart van de Woestijne come together in a unified vision. Luit’s work seeks to humorously yet confrontationally disrupt traditional gender roles. She is socially critical and explores vulnerability—both her own and that of her audience.

Bart, through his Werkplaats van de Woestijne, transforms existential questions into thought-provoking experiences, challenging people to find their own answers to life’s complex issues. He deconstructs political topics down to their existential core, believing that genuine change begins with deeper self-reflection.

The House Guest residency program is supported by the Municipality of The Hague and Creative Fund NL