Exploring Diversity in the Fetish Community – A Photo Project by Art That Matters
During Darklands 2025, photographer Arjan Spannenburg will do a new project with Max Govers and Bart Miedema to capture the rich diversity within the fetish community. At Darklands they will approach people and ask them to participate in this exploration of identity and expression. Their aim is to create an inclusive visual representation of the community, showcasing a wide array of backgrounds, aesthetics, and personal stories.
How we plan to approach Darklands:
Pre-Planning: To ensure we capture a diverse range of people, we are reaching out to individuals ahead of time to schedule portrait sessions for the project. This allows us to plan thoughtfully and ensure a variety of representation.
On-Site Selection: Our team will also be walking around during Darklands, identifying individuals who could add to the diversity of this project and inviting them to participate.
Selective Process: Unfortunately, we won’t be able to photograph everyone for the magazine. This is to avoid featuring similar-looking individuals and ensure the final collection is truly diverse. However, don't worry—anyone who still wants to be photographed can visit Taco Smit for a photo session.
Consent Form: To be part of the project, you’ll need to fill out a consent form, giving us permission to use the images.
Brief Interview: Along with the portrait, we’ll ask a few short questions like your name, age, occupation, and what fetish means to you.
Magazine Publication: The portraits and responses will be included in a magazine, which will be published later this year, celebrating the diversity of the fetish community.
Final Selection: While we aim to include as many portraits as possible, we can’t guarantee that all portraits will be published. Final choices will be made to best represent the diversity we want to showcase.
Download Your Portrait: After the magazine/ book is published, you’ll be able to download your portrait from our website for personal use.
Join our project at Darklands 2025
In this fetish project, we continue our mission by exploring the broader fetish community, focusing on the rich diversity within it. During Darklands 2025, we will again invite people from various backgrounds to step in front of the camera and share their unique stories. Our goal is to make the unseen visible, normalize diversity in fetish, and inspire greater understanding and acceptance.
Our previous Project at
Darklands 2023
BEYOND BOUNDARIES was an impactful journey into the world of gay fetish culture, featuring over 70 captivating portraits that defied societal norms and showcased the raw beauty of individuality. It sparked conversation, challenged perceptions, and encouraged acceptance of diverse expressions within the LGBTQ+ community.
But most important, it was supported by many companies and organizations within the fetish community around the globe!