melanie bonajo’s film ‘When the body says Yes’ will be presented in the Bodon Wing in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen during the special Summer exhibition Snakken naar Boijmans (Craving for Boijmans), opening 1 June, 2024.

melanie bonajo (they/them) represented The Netherlands at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022 with When the body says Yes. bonajo has been working with a curatorial team consisting of Orlando Maaike Gouwenberg, Geir Haraldseth and Soraya Pol. The scenography for the immersive installation When the body says Yes has been created in collaboration with Théo Demans.

After its première at the 59th Venice Biennial, When the body says Yes has been exhibited in various prominent European institutions, including FOMU in Antwerp, Belgium; KUMU Tallinn in Estonia and will be traveling to IMMA in Dublin, Ireland, the next stop of the tour being Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. For this presentation, Théo Demans, in collaboration with melanie bonajo, is creating a new scenography, specially designed for the Bodon Wing of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

When the body says Yes is a video work by melanie bonajo, Dutch artist, filmmaker, sexological bodyworker and somatic sex coach and educator. When the body says Yes is part of the artist’s ongoing research into the current state of intimacy in our increasingly alienated, commodified world. For bonajo, touch can be a powerful remedy for the modern epidemic of loneliness.

To celebrate its 175th Anniversary, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is opening its doors for five weeks, from 1 June to 7 July 2024, with the exhibition Craving for Boijmans. The museum is currently closed for renovation. It is therefore a unique opportunity to visit the building at this stage in its transition and experience unique art interventions – with the special highlight When the body says Yes by melanie bonajo!

Craving for Boijmans / Snakken naar Boijmans
1 June – 7 July, 2024
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Press opening: Wednesday 29 May
VIP opening: Thursday 30 May
Public opening: Saturday 1 June

Workshop & special event with melanie bonajo and Skinship:
Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 June