I am excited to perform a short piece at The Code for Women’s Day, and am honoured to be included on such an important program.
Press Release info from The Code:
THE CODE Women’s Day Gala – Die Kunsthure – Music, Art & Giving Female Sex Workers a Voice
THE CODE Women’s Day Gala – Hearing the Voices of Female Sex Workers on International Women’s Day
⚠️When: Saturday March 8th, 18:00-22:00
⚠️Where: THE CODE, Köpenicker Str. 79, 10179 Berlin
To celebrate International Women’s Day, THE CODE is hosting its second annual Women’s Day Gala, and your presence is not only desired, but also expected AND demanded.
“OH, HOW YOU ENJOY ME AS A SUFFERING BEING
I CAN SENSE THE COMFORT IN THE PAIN
THAT YOU’RE SEEING” – Die Kunsthure
The Gala will take the form of a multimedia art installation on the theme of female sex work, featuring multiple interactive and immersive elements across different spaces in our Kreuzberg fetish fashion & clubwear store. The evening will feature the work of artist, escort and sex worker activist, Sarah Julia Sabukoschek, a.k.a. Die Kunsthure.
Sarah Julia Sabukoschek is a Berlin-based Austrian artist and sex worker whose interdisciplinary work explores the themes of identity, sexuality, shame and gender, as well as giving a much-needed platform to marginalised voices and challenging social norms. You might also know her as Coco la Cuntra, whose ‘Coco – Die Stimme der Huren’ podcast is a raw and unfiltered exploration of the realities of sex work–from strip clubs and escort services to BDSM and sugar dating–that challenges myths, breaks down taboos and give a voice to those within the industry. An immersion into the realities of sex work and the lives of its workers.
Through Die Kunsthure’s curation, the spaces of our Kreuzberg store will be transformed into a network of visual, auditory and interactive experiences.
As well as showcasing the artist’s paintings, sketches and framed prints–pieces that depict explicit scenes of intimacy and sexuality, highlighting power dynamics and the inner passions and turmoils of their participants–there will also be screenings of a 30-minute film about the experiences and realities of life of a trans former sex worker.
The store’s backroom exhibition space will be the setting for an audio-visual installation, where visitors will be encouraged to sit or lie down on the floor and immerse themselves into the world of a sex worker.
Even the store’s changing room will be utilised–transformed into a sealed sound-booth for a poetry-led art installation. Along with the art pieces, there will also be musical performances including a live, naked classical music recital.
Why it’s important sex worker voices are heard
“I’VE LEARNED TO ENDURE AND HOW TO HIDE
WHILE YOU’RE VIEWING MY WOUNDS
AS BADGES OF PRIDE” – Die Kunsthure
Sex workers are often maligned, ignored and pushed into the shadows, despite the legitimacy of their profession. By giving them a platform to speak, we challenge the stigma that silences them and recognise their work as a valid career path–one that, like any other, deserves respect and protection.
The services these people offer are the things that every human desires. In fact, they’re the things that every human needs. Companionship, intimacy, recognition, respect, sexual and emotional release and a temporary escape from reality. Things we cannot live without. At the same time, it is a profession that can dehumanise one person to fulfil the desires or needs of another. It’s one that bears the cross of societal judgement and condemnation.
This is why it’s crucial to hear their voices. Without their perspectives, discussions about sex work remain incomplete, shaped by outsiders who too often dictate narratives without understanding the lived reality. By listening, we move beyond stigma and towards a society that acknowledges their humanity, respects their autonomy, and ensures their safety.
“THE FINAL QUESTION WILL REMAIN:
IS IT PLEASURE OR IS IT PAIN?” – Die Kunsthure
Thanks for reading and we REALLY hope to see you at our event. March 8th, 18:00 sharp! Expect Sekt – AS ALWAYS – and, if you need any more information from us on this matter, just ask.