This first event of the Land Art Lives program took place in April 2024
Date: 25 April 2024
Time: 13.30 - 17.00 hrs
Location: Stroom, Johanna Westerdijksplein and Haagse Hogeschool, The Hague
In cooperation with Stroom, The Hague

Link to the report of this event

Ownership

Over the course of this afternoon, we explored the concept of ownership against the backdrop of evolving practices in public art and current social developments. It was set up so that the landscape, the audience, the artwork, and the artist each were given a role and a voice in the process. The artwork Park in het Water (Park in the Water) is situated in the heart of the city, behind the Hollands Spoor station, near the Hague University. In developing the area into a campus, Vito Acconci & Studio used the old harbor structure to create a radical intervention. Resembling a sliver of the landscape, he crafted an island that seems poised to drift away like a sloping ice floe. The area is set to undergo further transformation in the coming years, as it becomes densified with the addition of new high-rise buildings, hospitality venues and more greenery. This calls for a thoughtful approach to handling this iconic work of art, without putting a bell jar over it.

Emotion networking method

The meeting was facilitated by Marit van Dijk from the Heritage Lab of the Reinwardt Academy, using the emotion networking method. Emotion networking originated in the practice of heritage work: if heritage tells us who we are and want to be, everyone should have a voice in its meaning and selection.

About Stroom

Stroom The Hague has initiated a number of iconic land art works, such as Celestial Vault (1996) by James Turrell in the dunes near Kijkduin and Park in het Water (1998) by Vito Acconci & Studio in the Laakhaven behind the Hollands Spoor station. As an organization, Stroom The Hague has long been active in realizing numerous public artworks, especially during the 1980s and 1990s when public art and land art became closely intertwined, and many governments were actively establishing public art collections. Stroom has collaborated with numerous high-profile national and international artists, thereby strengthening the practice of art in public spaces throughout the Netherlands.