Cover illustration for 'Verhalen van Vrouwen' (Art by Marloes Messemaker).
Stijn Schenk is an Amsterdam-based Dutch sociologist, entrepreneur and writer, who has initiated comic journalism projects about humanitarian and social subjects. He has published these titles through his Real Comics imprint. Over the years, Schenk has built out a huge network of Dutch and Flemish comic artists, who make either autobiographical comics, or illustrate other people's testimonies. Some of these stories were adapted into comic scripts by Schenk himself, while the artists provide the further visualization. Important projects were his comics paper 'Mensen' (2016), collecting graphic stories about mental illness, and the anthologies 'Verhalen van Vrouwen' (2019), with real-life stories of women about abuse, oppression and exclusion, and 'WijMannen' (2020), an exploration of masculinity.
Background
Born in Amsterdam in 1976, Stijn Schenk has a universitarian background in sociology. Since the early 2000s, he has worked as marketing manager and coordinator for both commercial and cultural events in the Amsterdam area. His affiliations include the cultural centers De Balie, The Sugar Factory, Hotel Arena and the Odeon Amsterdam, as well as the festivals Over het IJ and the Two Bridges KLIK! animation festival and Filmpeople, a portal for the movie industry. Since 2012, he has worked as an editor and writer for the educational publishing houses BoomLemma and Edu'Actief.
Comics
Since 2011, Schenk's personal projects have often been comics-related. For the 2012 and 2014 editions of the Haarlem comic festival, he gathered about 180 artists to set up shop window displays all around the city for his 'Zichtbare Lijnen' ("Visible Lines") project. Under the same banner, he organized a variety of initiatives promoting the work of over 40 artists, this time in Amsterdam. Over a course of three months in 2014, Schenk installed several new shop windows, launched the 'Wat Wil West' comic paper with Maia Matches, and displayed the work of Dutch comic artists in the Amsterdam Kinkerstraat and comics shop Het Beeldverhaal. In 2015, he was one of the project coordinators for 'Drawing the Times', an online portal for comic journalism. Schenk has also provided original puzzle concepts to Denksport in collaboration with artists like Aarti Jainath, Bart Noolen, Ben Westervoorde, Larie Cook and Jan Willem Spakman.
Comics report about antidepressants, with art by Mas Hab.
The In Lijn Foundation
Since 2016, Stijn Schenk has definitely made his mark in the field of graphic journalism with his In Lijn Foundation. He gathers artists from varying comics disciplines and lets them draw comics about subjects with a major social impact. Among them have been sexual abuse, domestic violence, mental and physical health and human rights. Schenk grouped his humanitarian comics projects under the imprint The Graphic Story, later rebranded to Real Comics. With his project, Stijn Schenk has initiated a valuable new utilization of comics art in the Netherlands. Several early stories were published on the online youth platform Mindshakes, which included art by Aimée de Jongh, Amanda Majoor, André Slob, Anne Staal, Elmer de Gruyl, Emanuel Wiemands, Frederik van den Stock, Jan Willem Spakman, Joris Diks, Karida van Broekhoven, Kenny Rubenis, Kim Duchateau, Manon Bijkerk, Martijn van Santen, Mas Hab, Mei-li Nieuwland, Merel Barends, Pieter van Tongeren, Shamisa Debroey and Tom van der Linden.
Cover for the 'Mensen' comics paper by Jan Cleyne.
Mensen
Schenk's foundation's first important project was the comic paper 'Mensen' (2016), created in collaboration with the Dolhuys Museum of the Mind in Haarlem. With the key words "openness" and "connection", the paper collected graphic stories about different kinds of mental illness and their acceptance in our society. The contributing artists were Manon Blijkerk, Jan Cleijne, Elmer de Gruijl, Mas Hab, Femke van Heerikhuizen, Marcel Ruijters, André Slob, Jan-Willem Spakman, Ben Vranken and Ben Westervoorde, while Frits Jonker designed the headers.
'My Sexual Liberation' (art by Els Deckers).
Verhalen van Vrouwen
'Verhalen van Vrouwen' ("Women's stories", 2019) collected true stories of women who have been victims of abuse, suppression or social exclusion. Schenk's wife Legien, a victim of childhood sexual abuse herself, was the main instigator behind the project. Amanda Majoor captured Legien's story in graphic format for the first time, then Aarti Jainath did the same for the final anthology project. Created in cooperation with several relief organizations, the project contained stories about violence, sexual liberation, lover boys, vaginismus, slutshaming, #METOO, forced marriage and gender issues. Schenk not only initiated and coordinated the production, he also provided most of the scripts, which were illustrated by Aarti Jainath, Alex Skim, Aloys Oosterwijk, Amanda Majoor, Amanda van Laar, Beldan Sezen, Doeke van Nuil, Els Deckers, Floor Koens, Jan Cleijne, Joris Diks, Kim Duchateau, Manon Bijkerk, Marcel Ruijters, Mas Hab, Marloes Messemaker, Megan McNulty, Mei-Li Nieuwland and Melissa Brouwer. The book collection was presented in the Amsterdam comic shop Het Beeldverhaal on 23 February 2019.
WijMannen
The follow-up of 'Verhalen van Vrouwen' dealt with the social roles of men. 'WijMannen' ("WeMen", 2020) explored men's desires, fears and anger through the themes of vulnerability, intimacy, guilt and blind spots. Some stories and drawings were autobiographical - for instance Schenk's own frankness about his relationship with his wife - others were more general in nature. The collection had an impressive list of contributing artists: Abe Borst, Alan van den Hoven, Amanda van Laar, Amanda Majoor, Ben Westervoorde, Bettina Haarbosch, Bob op 't Land, Els Deckers, Ez Silva, Falco Verholen, Feli Nicolaes, Floor Koens, Frits Jonker, Gemma Plum, Gijs Kast, Jan Klinkhamer, Joos Jonges, Joss Lopez, Liza Mennes, Marcel Ruijters, Marloes Dekkers, Marloes Messemaker, Mas Hab, Menno Wittebrood, Nekouhai, Rosanna van Leusden, Ruben Gringhuis, Saverio Wielkens, Stephanie Engelenburg, Tom van der Linden and Wilbert van der Steen. The project was done in a partnership with theater maker Rikkert van Huisstede, who brought similar explorations of masculinity to the stage with his performers' collective Boys Won't Be Boys.
Wortels in Nederlands-Indië
With more stories in the pipeline, Stijn Schenk has initiated a valuable new utilization of comics art in the Netherlands. In late 2019, Real Comics released 'Wortels in Nederlands-Indië', a small press collection of thirteen artistic co-creations based on the culture and colonial history of the former Dutch Indies (nowadays Indonesia). Contributors were Dido Drachman, Karida van Bochhove, Els Deckers, Marlon Teunissen, Abe Borst, Roel Smit, Coco Ouwerkerk, Jeroen Steehouwer, Martijn Daalder, Peter van Dongen, letterer Frits Jonker, graphic designer Alfred Boland and colorist Marloes Dekkers.
One of the stories from the anthology was also included in 'Wortels in de Molukken' ("Roots in the Moluccas"), a 2022 comic book by Real Comics collecting the stories of a number of women from the Moluccan community in the Netherlands, drawn by Els Deckers and Dido Drachman.
Hellships
In addition to 'Wortels in de Molukken', 2022 also marked the launch of another anthology. Initiated by Simone Berger and Stijn Schenk, 'Hellships - Herinneringen in beeldverhalen' collected true stories from the Japanese World War II hell ships, which transported Allied prisoners of war and Asian forced slave laborers under dire circumstances. Created in collaboration with the Foundation Commemorating Victims of Japanese Sea Transports, the contributing artists included Amanda Majoor, Karida van Bochove, Jan Cleijne, Ben Westervoorde, Aloys Oosterwijk, Rossane van Leusden and Dido Drachman.
From: 'Wanneer Je Geliefde Seksueel Misbruikt Is', the personal story of Schenk and his wife about coping with a background of sexual abuse (art by Amanda Majoor).