WOMAN POWER!
Annette Kellermann was arrested on Boston beach in 1907 due to “offensive revelation” wearing a one-piece swim shirt.
The liberation
The history of emancipation can also look back on a long and rocky road with regard to the development of bathing culture: Women fought against social morals and political bathing guidelines on many continents for over 100 years. Swimming, especially in the open sea, was sometimes life-threatening up to the 20th century due to the prescribed amount of clothing. As a result of the tireless efforts of competitive swimmers, more comfortable and revealing swimwear was gradually created. Modern swimwear today is characterized in particular by its diversity in terms of designs and ways of wearing: From micro bikinis to burkini, everything is represented. Whether and to what extent a woman shows her body while bathing should ultimately be her individual decision — regardless of the “ideal bikini figure,” which is often propagated in the media and advertising world.
JANARA — Our symbolic figure for the triumphal march of women
The mission of the BikiniARTmuseum is to empower women of all ages, figures or ethnicities to be “brave” and to break away from conventional beauty ideals to a certain extent. Everyone is at their best when they feel good and satisfied with themselves. The BikiniARTmuseum is an homage to the determined pioneers and predecessors of yesterday and today. To illustrate this, we have created JANARA: The symbolic figure, which is around ten meters high, represents a young woman from the 1950s wearing a bikini and boxing gloves in a winning pose and represents the victory of women against conservative morals. The creator of the figure, created with great grace and sensitivity, is Doris Geraldi, a well-known sculptor from Rio de Janeiro.
