Charlotte Hermanns (co-founder)
Study: Arts and Culture Studies
Interests: Reading, dance, playing several instruments, outdoors
WOTT: Women on the Timeline is a project close to my heart. This is not only due to the fact that Anouk and I initiated and now run this platform, but also due to the fact that I personally miss female role models. Of course you have many celebrities and social media, but I did notice women missing from history books. During my study I started to learn more about female academics and historic figures. With my thesis I focused on representation and perception of history through the medium film and the genre historical fiction. This is where the idea for our platform stems from: the movie Hidden Figures and the role of black female mathematicians in the space race. Were there more women who helped our society to move forward or made a great impact on our society? And are they then also hidden figures of history? With this project we say: let’s make them visible and spread the word that women have an immense/grand impact on the world we live in!
Anouk Wolkotte (co-founder)
Study: Arts and Culture Studies
Interests: Watching Netflix, reading, walking my dog, traveling and playing games with my friends and family.
WOTT: Initially I started this project, because I missed the women in my education, and especially in the history books. But also when discussing certain researchers and philosophers at school, we were only talking about Nietzsche and Freud. Before I started taking classes at Uni, I never heard about Simone de Beauvoir and Maya Angelou. With Women on the Timeline we want to show young people and our own generation that there really are women to look up to, they are forgotten or banned to stay in the shadows of men. We are putting them in the spotlight again and this time to make them stay! 🙂
Sanne Akkermans
Job/study: Arts and Culture Studies / Master Art Policy and Art Business (graduated). Working as a freelance writer.
Interests: Celtic culture, transgressive art and metal music. I like reading, discovering new music and drinking beer.
WOTT: I started working with Women on the Timeline after seeing an open call on Facebook. I have written three articles and also work as an editor and translator. I love the initiative because I learn so much about women who I had never heard of before. I love reading and checking everyone’s articles. It’s important for others to learn about important women from the past and the now, because, among other things, canon and education miss this important information. It’s vital for people to learn about women that have shaped and changed the world.
Daphne Janssen
Study: Sociology
Interests: Reading books and articles or listening to podcasts on gender related topics, baking healthy food, watercolour painting, running.
WOTT: When I started studying sociology, I became interested in inequality problems, in particular problems related to gender inequality. I found it interesting to read articles about the different aspects of gender inequality in the past, how these inequalities have developed into the society we live in today and how current inequalities will develop in the future (if no action is taken). However, I did not know how I could do my own bit in making these inequalities more widely known. When I heard about Women on the Timeline, participating in the project seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn more about the important women we have known and who we still know today, while also contributing to the unequal representation of women in history books. This not only makes it fun, but also valuable to write and edit articles for the project.
Sita Struijke
Study: Arts and Culture Studies
Interests: Art (history), (amongst others) R&B music, watching movies and series, sneakerhead in the making.
WOTT: I’ve always felt like expressing my feminist drive in a usefull way. When Women on the Timeline came across, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for this whilst expanding my own knowledge about influential women. Being a perfectionist, becoming an editor seemed like the perfect fit. Reading the diverse articles and biographies about even more diverse women is a nice extra!
Jana Roovers
Study/job: Fine art and design in education / Art educator
Interests: Making art, cycling, debating artistic topics, cooking
WOTT: As an art educator working in the museum, you are an intermediary between the work of art and the audience. The museum offers tools for establishing connections. Nevertheless, it also “teaches”. Every work of art enters into a relationship with the visitor, regardless of the intention. The challenge is to channel this knowledge; paths that make it accessible and understandable for all visitors. I make it my duty to give everyone the opportunity to become acquainted with (Dutch) art and culture. I find it important to take a critical look at the position of women in today’s society and the position of women in art history. Women on the Timeline is a great initiative to also make other people think about such emancipatory subjects.
Find us also on our social media platforms where you can always reach out if you have any question or suggestions.
Instagram: @w_o_t_t
Facebook: @WomenOnTheTimeline
Raffia 