Note: this program is in Dutch

On Saturday evening, June 21, 2025, you are warmly invited to the Old Town Hall of Middelburg from 7:30 to 9pm for a program centered around the theme ‘women’s love in Zeeland.’ The event is organized by Vleeshal in collaboration with Prospektor. Podcast maker Maartje Duin explored this topic (and more) in her much-discussed podcast Mina & Mevrouw, by delving into one of the many underrepresented stories from history. On June 21, Maartje will use excerpts from the podcast to explore, together with several guests, their perspectives on les-bi-queer role models from Zeeland’s past. Together, they will discuss and examine how these stories of women’s love can become part of Zeeland’s historical narrative.

Drawing from personal experiences, archival materials, and music, four women from different generations share their perspectives. The guests for this special evening are: historian Roos Nolten, singer Patricia Foort, LAVA frontwoman Martha Vergouwe, and emeritus professor of gender studies Maaike Meijer.

Maaike Meijer (1949) is emeritus professor of gender studies at Maastricht University. In the 1970s, she became actively involved in the emerging feminist movement and was one of its key voices. She lives in Amsterdam and works as a writer, researcher, and speaker. Meijer is the author of biographies of M. Vasalis (2011) and F. Harmsen van Beek (2018).

Roos Nolten (2000) grew up in Middelburg and moved to Utrecht at the age of eighteen. She is a historian and legal scholar. Roos is currently completing her PhD at the Open University in the field of labor migration law and serves as editor-in-chief of Skript Historisch Tijdschrift, a history journal affiliated with the University of Amsterdam. For this journal, she researched lesbian and queer stories from Zeeland.

Martha Vergouwe (1950) grew up in a village in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. After a traditional start, she became involved with the women’s emancipation movement in the late 1970s. In 1978, she founded the women’s shelter Blijf van m’n Lijf Huis Vlissingen and in the 1990s was the chairwoman of LAVA: Lesbische en Andere Vrouwen Aktiviteiten (Lesbian and Other Women’s Activities). Martha lives with her wife in Vrouwenpolder.

Maartje Duin (1975) is an audio documentary maker. Her podcasts The Plantation of Our Ancestors (2020) and Mina & Mevrouw (2024) reflect on her maternal family history in Zeeland. Through her projects, Maartje engages a broad audience in conversations on themes such as women’s history, the legacy of slavery, and dementia. Her work, often broadcast by VPRO, has received national and international acclaim and nominations.

Patricia Foort (1971), soul singer, learned to sing in Surinamese gospel choirs. She graduated from the Hilversum Conservatory in 1994. In 2009, she moved to Goes for love, where she now lives with her wife Margot. Patricia frequently performs at Pride events, including the first Zeeuwse Roze Zaterdag in 2023. In 2024, she won Pride Stars during the Winter Pride Maspalomas on Gran Canaria.

About Prospektor Prospektor is a journalistic production company focused on stories with social relevance. Their narrative forms vary—from documentary films and interactive projects to podcasts, books, and exhibitions—and are often transmedia in nature.

Events

21 June

Lecture Mina & Mevrouw

5:30 – 7 pm 

€5