Lena Gorlatova - artistic director, Marina Dadychenko - dramaturg, Yura Shipkov - designer,
Sveta Gorlatova - urban researcher
The project began with an exploration of the phenomen "flâneur"—traditionally a solitary, middle- or upper-class man who leisurely drifted through the crowd as a passive observer of the urban landscape. To be a Flâneur was not available for women - it was still a long time before it was appropriate for women to walk unaccompanied. Although modern women enjoy greater freedom today, the question remains: do we truly feel safe in public spaces?
The second starting point of the project was the book "Invisible Women", where Caroline Criado Perez highlights how many aspects of life, often considered universal, are still primarily designed for men due to a lack of data on women's experiences.
Inspired by this issue, in 2022, Lena and Marina held a series of workshops with ten women from Tyumen. Together, they explored the city’s historical context from a female perspective, sharing their experiences in urban spaces and discussing how public and private areas could become safer for women.
The workshops culminated in a performative walk through the center of Tyumen. This walk included elements of social choreography, encouraging participants and the audience to reflect on their own experiences in the city. Over the course of 1.5 hours, they visited significant "women's places"—from the territory of a maternity hospital to a convent, and streets named after women.
As the audience listened through headphones, they heard live, improvised streams of speech from the women-participants. These candid, intimate stories covered topics such as domestic and reproductive violence, sex education, LGBTQ+ experiences, and street harassment. Throughout the walk, there were stops for open discussions, allowing the audience to share their thoughts and personal experiences.
As a symbolic gesture, participants left flowers on the streets—a quiet, yet powerful mark that said, "We were here."
Beside the performative walk there was also an open lecture "How to make city comfortable for everybody?" by Sveta Gorlatova, feminist and queer urban researcher, it was free and open for everyone who interested in urban planing and gender equality. Educational part was also important for our project to make visible problems of safety and justice in public spaces.
The project was supported by The Youth theater Center "Cosmos", Tyumen, Russia
Many thanks for informational support to the bookshop "Nobody sleeps", Tyumen, Russia
First day of the project, developing the concept
Lena Gorlatova director of the performative walk
Marina Dadychenko -dramaturg
Social choreography with the audience
Discussion with the audience on the territory of the maternity hospital
Participant Yana telling her story
Participant Lena telling her story
