Projects & Collaborations
These are some of the projects & collaborations I have been part of over the last few years. An incomplete overview:
Intimacy Educator in collaboration with TU Eindhoven & Universiteit Utrecht @ Betweter Festival 2023
With smartwatches, we monitor our health throughout the day. Can we also measure or even predict our emotions using them? And what do we think about that? At the beginning of the Betweter Festival, we will distribute 200 smartwatches for this experiment to test whether an AI algorithm can measure your mental state. An experiment by computer scientist Pieter Van Gorp (Eindhoven University of Technology), experimental psychologist Anouk Keizer (Utrecht University), and intimacy educator Wilrieke Sophia.
Advisor Creative Making Process @ But What About – Vieze Liedjes / 2023 – present
Vieze Liedjes is een modulaire muziektheatervoorstelling van een uur, uitgevoerd door ensemble But What About en zanger Jannelieke Schmidt. In de regie van Kiki Jaski gebruiken we het boek “Vieze Liedjes uit de 17 de en 18 de eeuw” van Annemieke Houben om ons toekomstbeeld van een vrije seksuele moraal te schetsen uit een perspectief van 300 jaar geleden. A taster is online already >
Photo @Henry Faber
Coach @ Studio Bartels & Via Rudolphi Producties – All Men Must Die / 2023
Coach in the creative process of creating a scene about power dynamics, consent, and touch involving people from the audience.
Theaterkrant: “Eva Bartels schudt het publiek met consent wakker.”
What Eva said about our collaboration:
“Wilrieke is a powerful and gentle space holder; they know how to create a space that feels both free and safe for self-exploration to take place. They possess a wealth of knowledge and experience, making for an inspiring combination to learn from. I thoroughly enjoyed working with them and have acquired several tools from them that have often proven useful in terms of taking rest, staying grounded, and setting clear boundaries.Their courses are playful and instructive, and I have had the privilege of meeting incredibly inspiring, courageous, and beautiful people.
Our collaboration for my research performance was enlightening and challengingly in a good way. Thanks to their guidance, I found my strength and learned how to provide space and safety for others during my performance while simultaneously creating an exciting atmosphere.
Wilrieke’s professional and sometimes almost academic approach to kink, BDSM, neo-tantra, etc., is so multi-layered that my fascination with these topics has only grown. Their knowledge is, therefore, not only applicable in the world of kink but also beyond. Their practice intersects with theater, art, psychology, spirituality, and science, creating an intriguing bridge between various divergent perspectives: what it means to be human and a part of a larger whole—a society or even larger, the cosmos. How do we connect with ourselves, others, and everything around us?”
– Eva Bartels
Book contract @ Twin Flame Publishers / 2023 to Present
Twin Flame Publishers approached me to write a book about non-heteronormative, inclusive tantra. Working title: Queer Tantra, Gender-free Practices for a Wide Range of Bodies and Minds. This book is an approach to tantra and mindfulness in an inclusive framework for folks from all genders, and sexual preferences, but also folks with different abilities and on the neurodivergent spectrum.
Guest lecturer @ Mount Allison University, Canada / 2022 to Present
Annual guest lectures for Canadian students visiting Utrecht University about Cross-Cultural Sexuality, including topics like consent, power dynamics, sexuality, non-monogamy, and parenting.
Proof reader & sparring partner @ Anker Richter for Cult Trip / 2021 – 2022
Anke Richter wrote ‘Cult Trip, Inside the World of Coercion & Control‘, a book about how and why cults attract, entrap, and destroy otherwise ordinary people. Published by Harper Collins.
Guest Lecturer @ Hogeschool Utrecht / 2022
Guest lectures on inclusivity, gender diversity, sexuality, and consent.
Guest Lecturer @ Fontys Hogeschool / 2022
Guest lectures on neuroscience, consent, the nervous system, and professional ethics.
Speaker @ The Intimate Revolution Symposium / 2021 – Present
Keynote speaker about sexuality, parenting, consent, professional ethics, etc.
Speaker @ TEDx Koenigsallee / 2019
‘Most people equate intimacy with sex but there is a whole range of possibilities that can bring us fulfillment. And while there are many tools for personal growth that help us to be healthier or more productive, we often lack the means to specify the level of intimacy we want. Wilrieke designed her cuddle workshops to teach people how to understand their needs and boundaries so that they become more comfortable with intimacy. Wilrieke’s talk will reveal the empowerment, confidence, and happiness we stand to gain when we design our own ways of being intimate.’
Contributing Author @ Stories from the Polycule (Edited by DR. Elisabeth Sheff) / 2015
‘Sheff (The Polyamorists Next Door) has collected an array of essays, poems, and drawings about polyamory (multiple committed romantic relationships, not to be confused with sex-only swinging) in this interesting compendium, along with a piece about her own experiences with the practice,’ Publishers Weekly.
Contributed two chapters to this first of its kind anthology of people living in consensual non-monogamous relationships.
Contact me for more information about my personal and collaborative projects, and the options for you to work with me.