edwinstolk

[edwinstolk]

Boek: Gezocht Talentvolle Gemeenten

Mooi boek met verrassende inzichten! ✨️ Het project Gezocht Talentvolle Gemeenten liep eind 2024 ten einde. Het goede nieuws is dat mijn samenwerking met de Gemeente Krimpen aan den IJssel doorgaat in 2025.💡 De online versie van dit boek vind je hier:

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Presentatie Talentvolle Gemeenten @ Dutch Design Week 2024

Op 24 oktober mocht ik tijdens de Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven iets vertellen over het belang van artistieke dienstverlening in het publieke domein.

Aan de hand van een aantal voorbeelden uit mijn praktijk schetste ik de kansen die er liggen. Dan is het ook van het grootste belang dat er gemeenten zijn zoals Gemeente Krimpen aan den IJssel die nieuwsgierig zijn en zich willen openstellen om samen vraagstukken op een andere manier te onderzoeken.

Het afgelopen jaar keken we met Gezocht Talentvolle Gemeenten welke belemmeringen samenwerking tussen kunstenaars en gemeenten in de weg staan, en welke nieuwe (financiële) instrumenten er nodig zijn om samen te werken aan maatschappelijke vraagstukken. Niet ter vervanging van kunstsubsidies, maar als aanvulling.

Gezocht: Talentvolle Gemeenten is een initiatief van SETUP Utrecht, Edwin Stolk, Cathalijne Smulders ism Jija Sohn en Stichting Lobby Lokaal in samenwerking met DOEN, Platform31 en de HKU.

Dit onderzoeksproject wordt mede mogelijk gemaakt door de deelnemende gemeenten, Innovatielabs van het Ministerie van OCW en het Cultuurinnovatiefonds van de Provincie Utrecht.

[edwinstolk]

Voortgangsbericht uit Krimpen a/d IJssel

De gemeente Krimpen aan den IJssel is één van de drie winnaars van de open call: Gezocht Talentvolle Gemeenten. Met mijn artistieke praktijk doe ik nu onderzoek naar de lang gekoesterde wens van deze gemeente een "Hart van Krimpen" te realiseren. Met een aantal voortgangsberichten op deze website wil ik graag met u delen hoe dit zich verder ontwikkeld.

[edwinstolk]

Rondleiding Streekmuseum Krimpenerwaard i.h.k.v. cardio_visie

De komende periode werk ik samen met mensen die wonen, werken en ondernemen in de gemeente Krimpen aan den IJssel. Een artistiek onderzoek met de titel cardio_visie rond de lang gekoesterde wens van deze gemeente om een 'Hart van Krimpen' te realiseren. ❤️

Na een allerhartelijks gesprek met Hilde van den Berg, directeur van het Streekmuseum Krimpenerwaard kregen we een enthousiaste rondleiding van Bram Baas. Zo probeer ik vanuit het verleden naar het heden te kijken en wat we daarvan kunnen leren in de toekomst.

📷 Hristina Tasheva

Meer informatie?

[edwinstolk]

Samenwerking rond Hart van Gemeente Krimpen aan den IJssel

Goed nieuws! De komende periode werk ik samen met de mensen die wonen, werken en ondernemen in de gemeente Krimpen aan den IJssel. Een artistiek onderzoek rond de lang gekoesterde wens van een 'Hart van Krimpen'.  Hoe ziet dat er eigenlijk uit?

De eerste fase van dit onderzoek luistert naar de titel cardio_visie en bestaat uit het ophalen van zoveel mogelijk informatie afkomstig van zoveel mogelijk mensen die zich willen engageren rond de vraag; wat is eigenlijk een kloppend 'Hart van Krimpen'?

Ellen Jacobs (beleidsadviseur van o.a. cultuur in deze gemeente) schreef: “Ik hoop op een verrassend, nieuw perspectief op het vraagstuk. Waarbij we ook leren hoe een andere manier van kijken, samenwerken en leren zorgt voor verbinding. Wij willen samen bouwen aan de identiteit van het dorp en het verder door ontwikkelen van een toekomstvisie.”

Dit project is onderdeel van innovatielabs, een initiatief van Ministerie van OCW, voortgekomen uit een ambitie in het coalitieakkoord om maatschappelijke vraagstukken te verbinden aan de creatieve sector.

De samenwerking met Gemeente Krimpen aan den IJssel is voortgekomen uit een selectieproces in het Talentvolle Gemeente project, waarin we optrekken met Cathalijne Smulders, SETUP en Mara van Waveren van Stichting Lobby Lokaal.

De foto’s zijn gemaakt door Hristina Tasheva

Lees meer op deze website: https://www.edwinstolk.nl/

[edwinstolk]

Opinie: Leidt het advies van de Raad voor Cultuur ons voorbij de Poort van Constant?

Ik schreef een opiniestuk 🗯 met de titel: Leidt het advies van de Raad voor Cultuur ons voorbij de Poort van Constant?✨️

De culturele infrastructuur in Nederland wordt vooral disciplinair ingezet voor het behoud (van wat is) en de sturing van het leven (wat niet kan zijn). Hierdoor ontstaat er een spanningsveld tussen discipline en kwaliteit. De Raad voor Cultuur bracht onlangs advies uit maar lijkt voorbij te gaan aan de disciplinerende werking van de bestaande machtsstructuren waarbij de artistieke vrijheid op het spel staat. 👇

📷 Poort van Constant Nieuwenhuys

[edwinstolk]

Open call: Gezocht Talentvolle Gemeenten!

Ben jij een wethouder, raadslid of beleidsmedewerker dan is deze regeling er voor jou! ✅️

De open call Gezocht Talentvolle Gemeenten is bedoeld voor gemeenten die de waarde zien van anders reflecteren op de problemen van vandaag en morgen, en kan worden ingezet om nieuwe inzichten te krijgen op beleid.

Met deze open call onderzoeken kunstenaarscollectief SETUP en de kunstenaars Cathalijne Smulders en Edwin Stolk, samen met Stichting Lobby Lokaal, Stichting DOEN, de HKU en Platform31 de relatie tussen kunstenaars en gemeenten.

Heb je vragen? Neem dan contact op met ons via info@talentvollegemeenten.nl

https://www.talentvollegemeenten.nl/

Een initiatief van SETUP, mogelijk gemaakt door Innovatielabs, een programma in opdracht van het ministerie van OCW en door het Cultuurinnovatiefonds van de provincie Utrecht.

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Open call: Wanted Talented Municipalities!✨️

If you are an alderman, councillor or policy officer in the Netherlands then this regulation is for you! ✅️

The open call Wanted Talented Municipalities is for municipalities that see the value of reflecting differently on the problems of today and tomorrow, and can be used to gain new insights on policy.

With this open call, artists' collective SETUP and the artists Cathalijne Smulders and Edwin Stolk, together with Stichting Lobby Lokaal, Stichting DOEN, the HKU and Platform31 explore the relationship between artists and municipalities.

Do you have questions? Please contact us at info@talentvollegemeenten.nl

https://www.talentvollegemeenten.nl/

Initiated by SETUP made possible by Innovation labs, a program commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and by the Cultural Innovation Fund of the province of Utrecht.

#edwinstolk #setup #talentvollegemeenten #opencall

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"The narratives we tell or have told" review for SUPERMAG - Supergau Festival

"The narratives we tell or have told" is a review of the Supergau Festival 2023 by artist Edwin Stolk (project: Conversation Pieces). You can read it here:

[edwinstolk]

Conversation Pieces @ Supergau

After an open call early 2022, I was invited by artistic director Tina Heine to work on 'Conversation Pieces'. A site-specific concept for the Supergau Festival 2023 in Lungau Austria. With this artistic intervention I focused on the 'rural flight' (called 'landflucht') where young people exchange the countryside for the city. This beautiful region has a rich cultural past, but what about its future? 'Conversation Pieces' offered a valuable opportunity to imagine and discuss the future. I am proud to share with you the video documentation on You Tube!

More information you can read here:

https://www.edwinstolk.nl/conversation_pieces.html

[edwinstolk]

Kunstprojekt:"Lungauer BürgermeisterInnen 2030"

[Ger] Am vergangenen Samstag nahmen Künstler Edwin Stolk und seine Frau Hristina im Rahmen des Supergau-Festivals das Foto für deren geplantes Projekt "Lungauer BürgermeisterInnen 2030" auf. Edwin will damit gezielt die Geschlechtergleichstellung und die derzeitige Situation im Lungau, mit 14 männlichen Bürgermeistern und einer Bürgermeisterin ansprechen.

https://www.edwinstolk.nl/conversation_pieces_ger.html [Eng] Last Saturday, artist Edwin Stolk and his wife Hristina took the photo for their planned project "Lungau Mayors 2030" as part of the Supergau Festival. Edwin wants to specifically address gender equality and the current situation in Lungau, with 14 male mayors and one female mayor.

https://www.edwinstolk.nl/conversation_pieces.html

[edwinstolk]

The Way the Water Flows -  ‘Conversation Pieces’ @ Supergau Festival

This article is published in German @ Supermag - magazine from the Supergau Festival.

In June, I wrote a postcard to all Lungau mayors to exchange views on the future of their municipality. Mayor Manfred Sampl of Sankt Michael im Lungau responded right away enthusiastically. The newspaper ‘meinbezirk’ reports about his attempt to make it harder to sell out to foreign investors and stop the flight of young people from this rural region. We agreed to meet at the town hall.

While most young people leave to study in the city, I wonder how this migration can be reversed. After all, the elements for a good learning environment are present in Sankt Michael im Lungau! Clean air, space & quiet for studying and new sports facilities are under construction. Theresa Santner lives in this market town and took us on a tour. Just imagine if studying in the countryside wins out over the city, perhaps nightlife could also be revived?

Back in my childhood we went a few times on holiday in Austria. As children we played in the summertime with the stones at a waterfall. Depending on the position, size and shape of these stones, the flow of the water changed. The water itself was of course unstoppable. In Lungau I looked at how we arrange the environment and how this affects our movements...

Christina Zitz works for Akzente (an organisation dedicated to youngsters), she gave me the Ultimo magazine, a special on "Youth between crises". In it, you can find an essential article on public space as democratic space. Within this environment, we present ourselves to others. Here we actually show who we are. The article mentions also that young people do not have so much to say about this shared environment.

Social geographer Andreas Koch concludes his article with "Public spaces are not neutral in terms of their possible uses. They offer - like stages - a contingent, but not completely arbitrary framework. On the one hand, this means that they must be open to design, to change. On the other hand, this means that it is not the space itself, but the actors assigning meaning to it, who have to ensure creative conflict management - and this among equals."

What is our role in shaping this space? Can we collaborate to change something (temporarily) and see how this affects our 'movements'? As with the stones and the flow of the water, the active imagination and shaping of our living environment?

It strikes me that young people do get asked for their opinions, for instance with a youth parliament or a summer school, I just cannot find the outcomes anywhere documented.

In "Between wilderness and leisure park", a pamphlet by Werner Bätzing, is explained how after 1989 neoliberalism affects the movement of persons in the mountain region. Shrinkage regions emerge and 'feral' in several ways. Foreign investors see holiday regions as a revenue model. Where there are hotels built, young people from the region cannot live. Metropolitan areas, on the other hand, are becoming increasingly similar and losing their identity.

In Lungau, you are never alone, Magdalena Egger wrote to me. The air is clean and the nights are wonderfully cool in the summer. Life here is connected to nature wrote Anna Aigner. “Club life is supported in Lungau, many friends, acquaintances in the association who help and support each other, also professionally.”

In the studies "Heidi no longer lives here" a project by StadtLandBerg and "Land without a daughter" by Isabel Stumfol, is mentioned that these close-knit communities can also have a downside. There is high social control, which does not suit everyone. Somewhere else, I read that staying means adapting, following traditions and rituals - 'the course of the river'.

With Christina Zitz of Akzente I talked about the relatively high number of people who commit suicide. We agreed that this is a difficult topic surrounded by taboo. How do you find the right help when things get tough? In a newspaper article was written that when someone commits suicide, others follow their example. "In the regions, people don't accept help so quickly. People are almost ashamed if they have mental problems or are depressed." In another article is the emergency number 147 mentioned where you can seek for help.

The mayor of Zederhaus, Thomas Kößler, told me about the rich association life in his nature park municipality. Christina Zitz emphasised that research shows (A3_Fact Sheet_Jugendreport 2020/2021) the need for informal spaces for youngsters, outside the association structure. After all, when your parents are on Facebook, you also prefer to choose another platform to keep in touch with friends.

With Nataliya Oberhummer I spoke about the special work of the Lungauer Women network. This is an independent platform for women's interests. The studies mentioned earlier both write that the rural exodus is feminine. We talked about the patriarchal division of roles between men and women, the importance of opportunity equality and the lack of suitable jobs for highly skilled women. We also discussed the fact that in Lungau are currently 14 male mayors and only 1 female mayor -- Waltraud Grall, whom I met later that week.

When I follow the news in Lungau, I see an article about heavy rainfall and flooding in June. Climate change affects us all. The summer was hot across Europe. In the Netherlands, rivers (which originate in the Alps) reached their lowest water levels. The climate is changing across national borders – the rivers connect us.

In Mauterndorf, young people mentioned the long travel time between their native region and student cities like Linz or Graz. Whereas you drive to Salzburg in an hour and a half by car, from Tamsweg it takes six hours and fifty minutes by train. The planned Tauernbahn was never built. The narrow-gauge railway stops at Club 760 “Verein der Freunde der Murtalbahn in Mauterndorf.” Iris Burtscher writes provocatively in Salzburger Nachrichten "Führt uns die Murtalbahn nach Salzburg?" I talked about this topic with the mayor of Mauterndorf Herbert Eßl.

The good news is that recently a night bus for young people "Nightline Lungau" is presented. Between our appointments, out on the street, we had an energetic encounter with Ursula Mayr from Hotel Post. We showed her the first idea sketches and agreed to keep in touch.

Baker Werner Löcker in Zederhaus passionately told us about working and living in Lungau, it's hard to live on just a few cows he ensured us. Before we left the bakery, he also confides a saying to us: "We pray the Lord give us our daily bread and protect us from black and red!" Then we step outside with bread and delicious cookies.

Dutch architect Floris van Alkemade wrote: "The most powerful engine for change is evoking a desire for change. Imagination is essential here. Not the world determines who we are, but vice versa, with our stories we shape the world." This text inspires me.

The Supergau Festival is an opportunity for me to share these stories by moving 'the stones' (metaphorically), so that it enables us to imagine what happens when we change ‘the way the water flows’. If the one way exodus of young people towards universities concerns you, or the lack of public transportation, or equal rights for women, or informal spaces where youngsters can meet, let this text be an open invitation to get in touch and work together on these aims.

Warm regards, Edwin Stolk

More information about Conversation Pieces:

https://www.edwinstolk.nl/conversation_pieces.html

Contact: info[at]edwinstolk.nl Photographs made by Hristina Tasheva

[edwinstolk]

‘Conversation Pieces’ @ Supergau

This article was first published in the online SuperMag -  magazine from the Supergau Festival.

The chance to publish a report in the Supergau Magazine is a nice opportunity to invite you to get involved in the upcoming Supergau Festival. I am a Dutch artist living near Rotterdam. The beauty of art is that it has many forms and possibilities. I am especially interested in the social insights that art can offer when we work together. In order to create meaning, I try to get to know the Lungau region and the people who live there.

Therefore I felt excited that I was invited in June by Tina Heine from Supergau to come to this beautiful environment. We stayed at Hotel Post with a large group of artists. After a two-day car trip with my wife Hristina we were welcomed by the Mayr family in Mauterndorf.

It was an impressive weekend with many special encounters and conversations. We were warmly welcomed by Tina Heine and Matthias Ais & Martina Berger Klingler from Salzburger Land. Afterwards we were shown around by Mayor Georg Gappmayer of Tamsweg and enjoyed a wonderful diner in the Kuenburg Castle. It promised to be an inspiring weekend.

During my first online research I had read about 'Landflucht'. That's what it's called when young people exchange the countryside for the big city. This theme intrigues me because it says something about the preferences we have. Where do we want to live and under what circumstances? During my stay in the area I spoke about this theme with a variety of people.

I saw that local traditions and rituals have an important place in daily life. At the same time, I noticed that these old traditions are announced today as events in the tourist agenda. It got me thinking. In the Netherlands there is little left of the old traditions outside the famous touristic sites and villages.

It strikes me that 'Landflucht' is often seen as something negative. Empty shops can be witnessed here and there. Due to globalization there is a worldwide tendency in which people, knowledge and resources are mainly concentrated in and around the large cities. But new technologies offer also the opportunity to attract people from abroad and to revitalize shrinking communities.

The youngsters I speak to or read about go to study in Saltzburg, Graz, Wien or Linz, for example. One of them pointed out the long traveling time from Vienna to get back 'home'. The qualities of the countryside are slowly fading into the background it seems. I wonder whether climate change and the corona crisis might shed a different light on this?

Among the people I spoke to were also youngsters who came to this region to work from outside Austria. The question that arises from these conversations is how accessible the local community is to newcomers? I read on the internet that you can even feel an outsider if your parents come from Graz. So how do you maintain the rich local traditions when your own population is shrinking?

We attended a presentation from Georg Macheiner about Lungau as the largest biosphere park in Austria. On the website of this model region for sustainable development, I see the future vision presented of a boy and a girl on an alpine meadow, dressed in traditional clothing. Heike Posch of the Supergau organization explained to me that this clothing is passed on from generation to generation and is therefore very sustainable. I wonder how do I relate to this image if I would like to come and live in the Lungau region?

The Lungau region has a rich cultural past and that past is visible wherever you look, but what about the picture of the future? This billboard near Tamsweg with 'We protect Austria' makes clear that the future must be above all a safe future. But how do you bind young people to this region and invite them from abroad to contribute and built a future in Lungau?

In the line of this question I am collecting ideas for the development of this area. I'm curious what do you think? For example, someone told me, “why don't we create flexible workspaces in the empty shops of Mauterndorf?” By placing construction boards at various locations during the festival in 2023, I want to expose these ideas in their environment and offer 'windows of opportunity'. What possible developments in your town or village make the Lungau region attractive for youngsters?

Let me know if you want to contribute with your ideas to ‘Conversation pieces’ or if you want to help realizing this art project: info[at]edwinstolk.nl I will return to Lungau in September and would love to meet with you in person. The beautiful photographs in this article were made by my wife Hristina Tasheva.

All the best, 

Edwin Stolk

[edwinstolk]

‘Conversation Pieces’ @ Supergau Festival 2023

Good news! The research in Austria was fruitful. Now I am happy to announce that I will continue working in Lungau @ Supergau Festival on 'Conversation Pieces'. For the Supermag I wrote about my findings so far: 

https://www.supergau.org/en/conversation-pieces-lets-talk/ 

[edwinstolk]

Almanak voor Radicale Verbeelding

Dit weekend ontving ik van Tina Lenz deze mooie 'Almanak voor Radicale Verbeelding'. Het was een plezier om met haar van gedachten te wisselen over dit onderwerp. "Kunstenaar Edwin Stolk stelt dat participatieve kunst vraagt om een ander waardesysteem. Sociale praktijken bieden relationele ruimte voor agonistische (Grieks agon strijd) inzichten waar een gezonde democratie in zou moeten voorzien. Het gaat niet om serieus genomen te worden binnen de (machts)piramide van de kunsten en opname in haar tempels, maar juist om daarbuiten met de beeldvorming van kunst waarde en betekenis toe te kunnen voegen aan het maatschappelijk debat." "In opdracht van het VriendenLoterij Fonds, onderdeel van Stichting DOEN heeft design antropoloog Tina Lenz explorerend onderzoek gedaan naar sociale kunstpraktijken." De Almanak voor Radicale Verbeelding – 360 pagina’s dik, 1 kilo zwaar – is o.a. te koop bij Framer Framed.

https://www.designanthropology.nl/almanak-voor-radicale-verbeelding/

[edwinstolk]

Supergau research residency

In June I was invited for a Supergau Festival research residency in the Lungau region in Austria. Residencies play an important role for me in order to be able to work context-dependent. Staying on a specific location makes it possible to meet the people in the dynamics of their own environment. In Lungau I am interested in the rural exodus of young people towards the city called ‘landflucht’. Now I am developing and working on a concept. The Supergau Festival will be held in the end of May 2023. Supergau for contemporary art is a landscape in which art finds new spaces. https://www.supergau.org/en/ https://www.edwinstolk.nl/inprogress.html

[edwinstolk]

Kunstproject ‘Het Bordes’ in Zaltbommel zet originele leeuwen centraal

Deze prachtige leeuw staat nu bij de ingang van het gemeentekantoor van Zaltbommel en speelt een hoofdrol bij "Het Bordes". De leeuw is in de heraldiek een populair wapendier. De leeuw staat voor moed en het dier wordt meestal klimmend afgebeeld. 

Omdat in 1982 bij het oude stadhuis twee andere, vergelijkbare leeuwen op het originele bordes werden geplaatst, stel ik voor om in juli in de Sint Maartenskerk deze originele beelden te tonen op een replica van dit bordes.

Lees meer hierover & hoe u kunt meehelpen op mijn website:https://www.edwinstolk.nl/hetbordes.html

[edwinstolk]

Video verslag ‘Uitzicht op de Elektriciteitscentrale van Langerbrugge’ 2021

Met gepaste trots deel ik met u dit videoverslag van ‘Uitzicht op de Elektriciteitscentrale van Langerbrugge’! Het beeldmateriaal wat Hristina Tasheva zorgvuldig heeft gemaakt op locatie heb ik verwerkt tot deze mooie video. Veel plezier met deze online première! 

Meer weten over ‘Mission Dhuicque’?https://www.edwinstolk.nl/missiondhuicque.html