Collective residencies / FEMINISMS / Olot
MARTA ROQUETA
From Monday, 30 October 2017 to Sunday, 12 November 2017
Bio
Founder and editor of Zena, a magazine that examines popular culture from a gender perspective. She is also a columnist for the newspaper El Nacional and the magazine ONGC. She has researched in the field of women, religion and communication for Blanquerna Observatory of Communication, Culture and Religion; as well as in the area of assistance to immigrant and racialized women in Josep Irla Foundation. Master in Gender Studies in the School of Oriental and African Studies, in London; degree in Journalism by Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), and master in Advanced Journalism and Reporting by Ramon Llull University. She has written about gender issues in El Periódico, Nació Digital, VICE and Capçalera (the journal of the Association of Journalists of Catalonia).
Project
In Faber, she wants to continue working for the growth of the Zena magazine, regarding journalistic contents and consultancy and training in gender issues. Indeed, the activities she wants to develope during her stay aim to promote critical reflection on cultural products.
Feminism, friendships and discovery
I arrived at the residency at a time of professional change, as I had just finished a Master’s in Gender Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
From a personal point of view, the residency provided the space and the environment necessary to think about what the steps to adopt in the future. Being with feminist academics and activists helped me both to learn first hand about different professional paths that could provide me with inspiration and to discover points of view and spheres of feminism that I had not known until then. In the meetings with the other residents that we held every evening, I had the opportunity to present, for the first time, the research I did during my Master’s degree in the United Kingdom. This gave me a lot of security from a professional point of view, because it was the first time that my ideas were discussed between academics.
During the residency, I worked on my project Zena, a digital magazine that analyses video games, comics and television series from a gender perspective. We don’t just write at Zena, but also hold talks and workshops. In keeping with this line, during my stay at Faber I led a workshop on representations of gender, LGTBI, disability and race in popular culture to a youth centre in Olot. I also presented the magazine and some of our articles during an open house day at the residency.
Therefore, my stay at Faber was very gratifying. I could combine academic exchange, divulgation and professional growth and considering my personal situation, that was very important.
