The Beetsterzwaag Triennial is a multi-day art event organised every three years by Kunsthuis SYB, taking place at various locations in and around Beetsterzwaag. The first triennial originated in 2015 and was titled Sfear fan Ynset. With this second edition we continue the original objective: to show and present a multitude of artistic positions and works of art, both from former residents of Kunsthuis SYB and invited artists, in unconventional presentation spaces.
This edition is titled Almende – The Second Triennial of Beetsterzwaag. ‘Almende’ is a term from the Middle Ages which originally bears the meaning of the common share a population group or municipality holds in the meadows, forests and fishing waters that were not privately owned, and that were often used for cattle breeding, logging, hunting and fishing. In light of Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018 and its overarching theme ‘iepen mienskip’ (open community), we want to use the term ‘almende’ to question the idea of an open community and further expand it into a more inclusive zone, shared between both humans and non-humans, the living and the inert, the organic and the inorganic. What does it mean to be interdependent or to bear a collective responsibility for a shared living environment in which humans are no longer central? Can we, in collaboration with other animals and forms of life, think about a more sustainable society?
With Isabelle Andriessen, Feiko Beckers, Egle Budvytyte, Madison Bycroft, Joaquin Cociña & Cristóbal León, Deirdre M. Donoghue, Helen Dowling, Wapke Feenstra, Priscila Fernandes, Toon Fibbe & Laura Wiedijk, Paul Geelen, Eric Giraudet de Boudemange, Ane Graff, Jason Hendrik Hansma, Josje Hattink, Rosie Heinrich, Eric Peter, Lea Porsager, Anne Marijn Voorhorst icw Minne Kersten, Marlena von Wedel, Charlott Weise, Louwrien Wijers, Müge Yilmaz, Timmy van Zoelen
Curated by Julia Geerlings & Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk
6 – 9 September 2018
Kunsthuis SYB, Hoofdstraat 70, 9244 CP, Beetsterzwaag, The Netherlands