Plaatsmaken is closed on May 29 to June 2

During the long weekend of Ascension Day, our building at Klarendalseweg 82a will be closed. We'll be moving to Hoogte80 to do some live screen printing! We'll be open again from Tuesday 3 June.

Everyone is welcome from May 29 to June 1 at the free-to-enter Hoogte80 festival grounds. Bring your own textiles, or buy a T-shirt or tote bag from us on site.

Plaatsmaken closed from May 29 to June 2

Friday March 14th at 7:30pm: We close the exhibition with an artist talk, admission is free.

TLP-DEF-2.mp4

The finissage of the exhibition The Living Print will take place on Friday 14 March.

We close the exhibition with an artist talk about the course of the various work processes and how the works relate to the landscapes from which they emerged. When do we speak of appropriation and extraction in an art practice and what are ways to deal with this honestly?

Four artists have experimented in our workshops with natural materials with which they created printed matter. However, their work also contains references to the omnipresent AI and the immense amounts of waste that remain in nature. Writer Lucie Fortuin followed the artists in their work process and wrote an overarching text.
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in the present tense, in the present tense.

- Ursula K. Le Guin, excerpt from ‘Infinitive’ -

Curator: Astrid Nobel
Artists: Arvo Leo, masharu & Olga Ganzha, Ratu R. Saraswati
Writer: Lucie Fortuin

An exhibition about the world between ourselves and the living nature, made transferable through words and images. On one hand, there is interaction and recognition, as described in the lines above by Le Guin. On the other hand, the loss of biodiversity and living landscapes due to colonialism and capitalism leads to sensations formally named as landscape grief and solastalgia or to the formation of definitions such as ecocide. In what ways do references to nature and materials extracted from it interact within an artistic practice with a responsibility towards the living world they refer to, and how do new forms and ways of working emerge here as well?

Four artists, including a duo, experiment in our workshops with natural materials to create prints. Their work contains references to colonialism, AI, and the foraging of materials. Writer Lucie Fortuin follows the artists in their work process and writes a unifying text.

Friday, January 17 at 5:00 PM: opening
Friday, January 24 from 4:00 - 6:00 PM: workshop by masharu and Olga Ganzha, free entry
Friday, March 14 at 7:30 PM: We close the exhibition with an artist talk about the progress of the different work processes and how the artworks relate to the landscapes they originate from. When does artistic practice involve appropriation and extraction, and what are ways to engage with this ethically?

Ratu Rizkitasari Saraswati
Ratu Rizkitasari Saraswati reflected on the intersection between colonization and fascination with nature. She searched for traces of the old city of Batavia in North Jakarta. The city was built under the command of the perpetrator of the Banda massacre, VOC General J.P. Coen. The original land of the city of Jayakarta was burned down and destroyed by him and the colonial powers in 1619. He also ordered the indigenous people of Nusantara to extract coral building stones from the seabed. These stones are incorporated into Porosity of Parables.

A hike on Mount Salak in West Java and conversations with a local guide who accompanied her there served as a point of reflection on social mobility in Indonesia and the Netherlands, as well as the lasting impact of Dutch colonization on the land and society. She also examined how nature and human exploitation relate to each other and raised questions about the extraction of natural resources, which to this day have changed the landscape of her homeland and the origins of living beings. Like the kantjil, a clever and resourceful animal from Indonesian fables, which was brought to the Netherlands in 1949 for the first post-war aquarium and terrarium exhibition in The Hague and is now part of a breeding program at Artis.

Arvo Leo
From September 25 to October 24, 2024, Arvo Leo crossed the mountains of the Pyrenees, leaving temporary footprints from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. In his backpack (where every item was practical, necessary, and weighed down to the gram), he carried one object that seemed to serve no purpose but later became a deliberate starting point. A sheet of temporary glitter dolphin tattoos was carried in a cartoonish manner from the ocean to the sea. While in the mountains, Arvo searched for hallucinogenic mushrooms growing in cow dung, with which he eventually made spore prints. Salt & Vinegar potato chips became one of his favorite snacks, and he imagined having a bag of chips big enough to sleep in. Now it’s 2025, and it's good to remember that with every bag of chips you eat, you're also creating a temporary shelter where you might fall asleep, staring at the ceiling above painted with cave drawings of dancing dolphins.

Dr. masharu and Olga Ganzha
Dr. masharu and Olga Ganzha printed using earth from the Museum of Edible Earth and homemade compost, which continued to evolve even during printing, causing the color to change constantly. They also made their own paper with compost and used paper containing peat and flowers from De Middelste Molen, a traditional paper-making workshop.

The tulip forms balance between stages of decay and resemble organs, somewhere between human and organic forms. Stones, collected from various parts of Russia, are tied to the idea of a severed connection to one’s birthplace due to the uncertainty of being able to return. The experiments with AI led to a discussion about the use of AI within the conceptual framework of this project. Some of the clashing viewpoints are made visible in the form of various annotations.

Lucie Fortuin
During the working period, Lucie Fortuin followed the work and creative processes of the various artists. She spoke with them about the ongoing influence of colonial power structures; about leaving traces, both visible and invisible; about lightweight walking sticks and edible earth. She also shared ideas from her own research into stones as markers of a boundary between life and non-life. “Where I Sit Sand” is a poetic text in which these elements come together—not as a closed whole, but rather questioningly, searching. How does what is happening now live on in an unknown future?

Finissage The Living Print

New workshops are planned for the upcoming months.

Have you always wanted to learn how to screen print or etch? Or do you want to brush up on your technique? You can still register for the following workshops:

Saturday 10 May: Workshop Pinhole Photography
Saturday 7 June: Workshop Screen printing
Friday 22 & 29 august: Super8 film workshop

Read more about the workshops and how to register here.

Workshops May & June

Plaatsmaken will be working with art collective Sunflower Soup for the next four years. They came up with the H0Ha plan.

Sunflower Soup is a collective founded in 2021 with the aim of connecting art and activism. The members of Sunflower Soup (SFS) are educated as artists. In recent years, they have also been active in climate, housing and anti-racism protests. Sunflower Soup makes exhibitions, drawings, zines and soup, among other things.

In the summer of 2023, Sunflower Soup created a forest world of paper pulp in Marres, Maastricht. Plants proliferated throughout the whole building, banners hung and people were invited to contribute to the growing 'Plantiarchy'. For this project, SFS worked together with various groups of people from the Marres area for months, in order to create a joint new reality in which plants have the say instead of people.

Following this impressive presentation, Plaatsmaken asked them to develop a multi-year plan in which collaboration from the workshops is central to arrive at other ways of publishing. Collective working, as SFS did in Maastricht, was Plaatsmaken's first thought for the 2025-2028 programme.

The impetus for this approach was the programmes Altered Breath (2022-2023) and Half Rhyme (2024) that were curated for us by Sunflower Soup member Ester Venema. Due to the duration of these programmes and the collaborations between writers and artists that yielded a lot, we realized that this collective way of working fits very well within Plaatsmaken. Mainly because it has both experiment and solidarity as starting points. We think it's great that Ester will remain involved in the coming years, but now from a larger perspective.

SFS came up with H0Ha, in which artists, writers and publishers collaborate during Ploegendiensten. The results are shown every season during the Samenscholingsweken. H0Ha runs parallel to Lenn Cox's Time Out Tune In programme. They overlap and reinforce each other.

Photo from left to right: Derk Thijs, Simon Kentgens and Ester Venema

Even voorstellen

A new workshop is planned: on August 22 and 29, filmmaker Wim van der Aar will give the two-day workshop 'The Power of Super8'.

During this intensive workshop you will learn the basic techniques of analogue filming on Super8 and develop your own black and white film. A perfect start for anyone who wants to experiment with analogue film as a means of expression.

On the first day we will dive into the analogue world of Super8. We will start with an extensive explanation of how Super8 cameras work: the different models that are available and which camera best suits your personal wishes and style. We will also discuss the history of Super8 film: from home memories to artistic experiments. At the end of the day, each participant will receive a Super8 camera and a black and white film cassette, with which you can make your own short film in one week. This is all about experimenting and trying out, it's not about perfection, but about personal discovery.

Day 2 (one week later): Developing and Projecting

On the second day we will develop the film you shot ourselves. We will use a classic LOMO tank for this, a compact developing tank specially designed for narrow film. Developing your own films not only has practical advantages, such as independence from a laboratory, but also offers a lot of creative freedom. By developing yourself, you can make conscious choices that influence the character of your film. It is also fun and exciting to do: you see your own images slowly emerge! At the end of the day, we project all films analogously with a classic Super8 projector. A special ending where we look together and discuss the unique result of everyone's experiment.

- Basic knowledge of Super8 cameras and film types

- Basic principles of black and white film development

- Creative experimentation within analogue boundaries

When: Friday 22 August (10:00 - 15:00) and Friday 29 August (10:00 - 17:00)

Costs: €295,- (including VAT and materials)

Register or do you want to know more? Then send a message via the registration form.

Super8 workshop

We let go of the traditional idea of an exhibition with a start and end point. Instead, we are organizing ploegendiensten with artists, writers and collectives.

Every season, there is a Samenscholingsweek, in which activities are bundled into an exuberant whole of artistic and social experiment. For this program, we collaborate with art collective Sunflower Soup and curator Lenn Cox. The first Samenscholingsweek took place in the week of March 17-22. The results of this first Shiftwork and Samenscholing can still be seen until mid-June.

Spring Samenscholing: March 17 - 22, 2025

During this first ploegendienst, Sunflower Soup, Zaban Razdar and Notshitprint have been working in Plaatsmaken for the past few months. A central question in the work created during this first ploegendienst is how the West views the way in which oppressed people have fought for their liberation in different places and at different times, or are still doing so.

Art collective Sunflower Soup emerged from a shared activist commitment and an urgent need to explore what art can mean beyond the personal, isolated individual. The collective is driven by a series of lively questions: can working in community foster a less passive, more participatory experience of art? How can art contribute to the politics of the everyday in which people relate to each other and to the more-than-human, planetary world? How do we reconcile the importance of activism with a poetic visual language that allows for humor, paradox, and ambiguity?

Lenn Cox is a community organizer, artist, educator, and program maker. She explores solidarity economies by immersing herself in self-organized learning-working-living environments, many with an ecofeminist and queer heart. She uses clothing and navigation maps to carry the exchanges and stories she collects. Lenn initiates gatherings that enable collective learning. An ongoing investigation into how we organize ourselves, what we can learn from each other, and what is at stake in the cultural field and beyond.

Zaban Razdar is in the holy land to support the indigenous population in their fight against ethnic cleansing together with other activists. In between, he picks up the pen to write off the Palestinian he is in love with.

Printing house for social justice. Notshitprint is a non-commercial printing house for activists and grassroots projects.

Tabea Nixdorff is an artist, typographer, and researcher. Her artistic practice includes (self) publishing, sound and language-based performances, collaborative learning, and social gatherings.

Anne Krul is an Afropese visual artist, poet, archivist, and activist. She was a member of Strange Fruit, an organization for young queer people from diverse cultural backgrounds (1989-2002).

Archival Textures is a publication series that gives space to unlikely finds from traditional archives, local community archives, conversations and personal collections, to find narratives from the past that can feed our current vocabularies of resistance and solidarity.

The Indian-Dutch theatre maker and storyteller Abhishek Thapar makes visual and intimate performances on the border between documentary and fiction. His performance can be seen at Plaatsmaken as part of the collaborative project Stadsatelier Arnhem.

For our small-scale educational projects we work together with the Hospitality Club, which consists of Mirka Farabegoli and Krista Burger. We involve primary schools from the neighbourhood, young people, children, ArtEZ students and MBO students and residents.

The Ploegendiensten and Samenscholingen are part of the programmes H0ha (by Sunflower Soup) and Time Out Tune In (by Lenn Cox). Read more about the programs here.

Now showing  | Ploegendienst 1

De Stroomversneller (Arnhem) and Groeispurt (Nijmegen) are subsidy schemes for new makers, artists and performers. Three times a year, Cultuur Academy, of which the two funds are part, organizes a drink for former applicants, future applicants and anyone who is curious about the schemes. This time the drink is at Plaatsmaken.

De Stroomversneller and Groeispurt stimulate innovative ideas and initiatives, and offer flexible support without unnecessary restrictions and obligations. During the drinks, you will meet other makers, the fund coordinator, the advisors of the funds and the team of Cultuur Academy. We also invite two makers from Groeispurt and Stroomversneller to talk about their project. This is an opportunity to hear how they experienced the schemes, what steps they took and what it brought them. We also pay brief attention to a changing theme. This edition focuses on private donations. We share inspiring examples and practical tips on how you can use private donations.

You are free to come along, there is no obligation to register, we enjoy talking to you and hearing what you are working on and how we can help you. You can find more information about the schemes here.

Costs: Free (registration is welcome, but not mandatory)

Stroomversneller & Groeispurtborrel

The annual Hoogte80 festival will take place from May 29 to June 1 and Plaatsmaken will be there!

This year we will be at Hoogte80 for the very first time. Have you always wanted to do screen printing, or have you seen our super cool t-shirts or bags on or by someone recently? You can come to us to print your Hoogte80 daily newspaper with a cheerful color. Besides, you can also bring your own shirt, bag or whatever and choose a print of your choice to screen print.

 Of course you can also buy a bag or shirt from us for direct printing. Success guaranteed.

Here you can find more information about Hoogte80.

Plaatsmaken staat op Hoogte80 !

The first new residents have arrived, materials have been ordered, and boundaries are being explored and stretched. Over the next four years, we will embark on an experiment in which two parallel programs intersect and strengthen each other.

We are letting go of the traditional idea of an exhibition with a fixed beginning and end. Instead, we are organizing shifts of artists, writers, and collectives. Each season, this culminates in a 'Samenscholingsweek' (Gathering Week), where activities are bundled into a vibrant mix of artistic and social experimentation. For this program, we are collaborating with the art collective Sunflower Soup and curator Lenn Cox. The first Gathering Week will take place from March 17–22, with more details in the March newsletter.  

For a four-year program at Plaatsmaken, Sunflower Soup presents HOHA. HOHA is a spicy soup of wordplay and visual discoveries that we will keep simmering for four years. It is a platform for finding new ways for people to make their voices heard, using the space and resources that Plaatsmaken provides. Posters, protest (Ho!), poetry & pleasure (Ha!).  

We start with homemade protest signs featuring inventive slogans and move through spoken word, dreamy poets, local residents, craftspeople, graphic hardliners, and printers resisting oppression. We experiment with new combinations of all these elements, creating them in our workshops in rotating shifts. The results can be showcased at Plaatsmaken, but also far beyond—on the streets, in jacket pockets and backpacks, in libraries, and community spaces.  

People who, for various reasons, are on the fringes of the art world—those who independently create magazines and visions for change and resistance, those who find ways to laugh despite hardship, those who have developed their own words and language—will have a central place in HOHA.  

The Time Out / Tune In program has emerged from the compost heap that Plaatsmaken has grown from, mixed with the nomadic practice of Lenn Cox and her ongoing research project Collective Wandering. This project explores self-organized socio-ecological communities and collectives—often with an (eco)feminist and queer core—born from a need for greater collectivity in the work and lives of artists and cultural workers.  

In recent years, we have seen increasing interest in and necessity for collectivity in the precarious cultural field. This program connects to the cyclical nature of time, calling for slowing down. The value of time and slowness for artists and collectives is fundamental, yet it is constantly under pressure. Sometimes, slowing down seems nearly impossible, given the productivity demands required to survive in the precarious cultural sector.  

Time Out / Tune In places time as a co-creator and currency at its core. It embraces the cyclical clock of the seasons, hoping to move beyond the relentless ticking of clock time. Through seasonal work, this way of thinking and working is given extra space. In intensive seasonal programs, residents at Plaatsmaken will be brought together with other makers.  

Time Out / Tune In takes the household of Plaatsmaken as its focal point, examining it closely and creating intersections with the ‘households’ of other makers and organizations. Seemingly everyday actions become part of the artistic process; they shape the conditions and rhythms that make art possible. Through recurring moments, we explore how to organize collectively, what we can learn from each other, and what is at stake.  

Art-making, in this context, is about setting things in motion—it moves beyond conventional standards of what art is, can be, or should look like.

Ploegendienst 1: January/February/March 2025
The results of the first shift will be showcased in the 'Lente Samenscholing' from March 17–22.

Sunflower Soup
The art collective Sunflower Soup emerged from a shared activist commitment and a pressing need to explore what art can mean beyond the personal, isolated individual. The collective is driven by a series of vibrant questions: can working in the community promote a less passive, more participatory experience of art? How can art contribute to the politics of the everyday, where people relate to each other and to the more-than-human, planetary world? How do we reconcile the importance of activism with a poetic visual language that allows humor, paradox, and ambiguity?

Lenn Cox
Lenn Cox is a community organizer, artist, educator, and program maker. She explores solidarity economies by immersing herself in self-organized learning, working, and living environments, many with an ecofeminist and queer heart. She uses clothing and navigation maps to carry the exchanges and stories she gathers. Lenn initiates gatherings that enable collective learning. It’s an ongoing inquiry into how we organize ourselves, what we can learn from each other, and what is at stake in the cultural field and beyond.

Jaban Razdar
Jaban Razdar is in the Holy Land, supporting the indigenous population in their fight against ethnic cleansing, alongside other activists. In between, he picks up his pen to write about the Palestinian he is in love with.

Adil/Notshitprint
Print shop for social justice. Notshitprint is a non-commercial print shop for activists and grassroots projects.

Tabea Nixdorff
Tabea Nixdorff is an artist, typographer, and researcher. Her artistic practice includes (self) publishing, sound- and language-based performances, collaborative learning, and social gatherings.

Anne Krul
Anne Krul is an Afropean visual artist, poet, archivist, and activist. She was a member of Strange Fruit, an organization for young queer people with diverse cultural backgrounds (1989-2002).

Archival Textures
Archival Textures is a publication series that gives space to unlikely findings from traditional archives, local community archives, conversations, and personal collections to uncover narratives from the past that can nourish our current vocabularies of resistance and solidarity.

Abhishek Thapar (Stadsatelier Arnhem)
The Indian-Dutch theater maker and storyteller Abhishek Thapar creates visual and intimate performances at the boundary between documentary and fiction. His performance will be presented at Plaatsmaken as part of the collaborative project Stadsatelier Arnhem.

Hospitality Club
For our small-scale educational projects, we collaborate with the Hospitality Club, which consists of Mirka Farabegoli and Krista Burger. We involve local primary schools, youth, children, ArtEZ students, MBO students, and neighborhood residents.

H0Ha & Time Out Tune In

Arnhems Stadsatelier concludes 2024-2025 programme with premiere of Lacuna Kitchen and publication

Over the past year, Arnhems Stadsatelier offered five artists the space and opportunity to conduct artistic research in various locations throughout the city and to share their work with the residents of Arnhem, with students, and with each other. Arnhems Stadsatelier is a collaboration between four cultural organizations in Arnhem: Theater a/d Rijn, Plaatsmaken, ArtEZ, and The Hub. The program encourages collaboration between individuals and institutions in Arnhem and breaks down artistic boundaries through cross-disciplinary and innovative research.

Social theatre maker Abhishek Thapar turned his lens on invisible kitchen workers within the hospitality industry. Lacuna Kitchen is a community arts project where theatre, gastronomy, community building, and social activism converge.

In addition, four emerging makers — Ro Smit, Levi Overvest, Mel Kikkert, and Charlotte Gillain — carried out their artistic research at Plaatsmaken and Theater a/d Rijn. They were introduced to presenting their work to an audience. Their projects engaged with social themes and were characterized by a variety of analog and digital art forms, as well as new ways of experiencing art. The outcomes of their residencies were presented in exhibitions, performances, and workshops.

Arnhems Stadsatelier is made possible with the support of the Municipality of Arnhem.

The Indian-Dutch theatre maker and storyteller Abhishek Thapar creates visual and intimate performances that balance between documentary and fiction. He connects personal narratives with global themes. In collaboration with the Lacuna Kitchen collective and Afra Tafri Creations, the team explored, during their residency at Arnhems Stadsatelier, how migration and colonialism have shaped the local food culture in Arnhem. Through conversations with kitchen workers, archival research, and participatory cooking sessions, forgotten stories become visible — and tasteable.

Lacuna Kitchen is a sensory theatre experience in the form of a pop-up restaurant, where the stories behind our food culture are explored. The performance gives voice to kitchen workers and chefs from European gastronomy and translates migration history into the dishes on our plates. Through cooking with special ingredients, personal stories, and shared meals, Lacuna Kitchen shows how food can build bridges between cultures — and between past and present.

The performance, presented by Theater a/d Rijn, will premiere on May 23 in Arnhem at Oude Kraan 72, and will then travel to the Oerol Festival and the Grand Theatre (Groningen), and in 2026 to Amsterdam.

Sharing experiences, methods, and research

Creating art across various domains requires diverse working methods. A key principle of Arnhems Stadsatelier is to make visible the research, experiences, and methodologies that precede the final work.

During the program, these elements were shared in various public moments. A publication was also released, compiling the makers' research into five interviews written by curator and art journalist Lieneke Hulshof. In these interviews, the makers reflect on their working methods, experiences, and the process that led to new work. Additionally, video portraits were created that visually present the makers' research. The video portrait of Abhishek Thapar will be released in June.

Click here to view the video portraits of the other residents.

The second edition of Arnhems Stadsatelier will begin in September with new makers and collaborations with cultural institutions in Arnhem. The four partners believe it is important to give a new generation of makers the space to experiment with various art forms and social themes. In doing so, they demonstrate that Arnhem is a city where makers can continue to develop, even after completing a creative or arts education. The research projects of Arnhems Stadsatelier explore how to engage audiences, especially those who do not naturally come into contact with art, and how to further develop cross-disciplinary practices.

Follow Arnhems Stadsatelier on Instagram @arnhems_stadsatelier

Lacuna Kitchen

The coming four years, we will embark on an experiment in which two parallel programs intersect and strengthen each other.

We are letting go of the traditional idea of an exhibition with a fixed beginning and end. Instead, we are organizing rotating shifts of artists, writers, and collectives. Each season, activities are brought together into a festive Gather Together, driven by artistic and social experimentation. The first Gather Together will take place in the week of March 17–22.

For this program, we are collaborating with the art collective Sunflower Soup (SFS) and program maker Lenn Cox. SFS developed the program H0HA, and Lenn Cox created Time Out/Tune In. The Hospitality Club provides education and public activities. More about H0HA and Time Out/Tune In can be found here.

MONDAY, MARCH 17 – FRIDAY, MARCH 21
Open continuously, results of Shift 1 on display. Participating creators are Notshitprint, Zaban Razdar & Sunflower Soup. In the etching studio downstairs, linoprints by Willemijn Theisens are on display.

THURSDAY, MARCH 20
15:00 - 17:00 | Protest Pasta - Hospitality Club
Drop-in workshop for screen printing on lasagna sheets
15:00 - 17:00 | Mobile Unit - Sunflower Soup
Screen printing with a mobile screen printing unit
17:00 - 19:00 | Spring Outing Soup - Lenn Cox & Sunflower Soup
Join us and celebrate the beginning of spring!

FRIDAY, MARCH 21
14:00 - 16:00 (Possibly extended until 17:00) | Fonts - Sunflower Soup
Drop-in workshop for designing a font for the Mobile Printing Unit
17:00 - 20:00 | Theater Performance - Abhishek Thapar
As part of the Arnhem City Residencies. Entrance is free, reservations can be made via info@plaatsmaken.nl. Read more about the performance here.

SATURDAY, MARCH 22
14:00 - 16:00 | T-shirts - Notshitprint
Screen print your own t-shirt with a design by Notshitprint (second-hand t-shirts only!)
14:00 - 16:00 | Action Research Walk - Republishing: Umoja Zwarte Vrouwenkrant with Archival Textures, Tabea Nixdorff & Anne Krul
During this tour, we will revive several historical locations in Arnhem North – such as an unofficial women's house and editorial office in one – while hearing stories about the Umoja Black Women’s Newspaper and weaving new narratives together.

At 14:00, we gather at Plaatsmaken with tea and coffee; around 15:30, we return to Plaatsmaken for snacks. The walk lasts approximately 45 minutes and is accessible to wheelchair users.
Limited spots are available, please register via lenn@plaatsmaken.nl
Read more about Umoja Zwarte Vrouwenkrant and the walk here.

16:00 - 18:00 | Presentation - Zaban Razdar
Zaban shares experiences from his recent stay in the West Bank

Watch the video below for a throw back at the Spring Gather Together 2025 (Lente Samenscholing).

Gather Together

Arnhems Stadsatelier is a brand-new collaboration between four cultural organizations in Arnhem: Theater a/d Rijn, Plaatsmaken, ArtEZ, and The Hub. 

Five artists are given the space and opportunity to conduct artistic research in various locations across Arnhem in the coming months and share their work with the city's residents, students, and each other. The program encourages unique collaborations between people and organizations in Arnhem and breaks artistic boundaries through cross-disciplinary and innovative research.

Social theater by Abhishek Thapar turns the spotlight on invisible kitchen workers in the hospitality industry. Lacuna Kitchen is a community arts project where theater, gastronomy, community-building, and social activism come together in a long-term research process and a performance that engages both the intellect and the heart.  

Additionally, four emerging creators—Ro Smit, Mel Kikkert, Levi Overvest, and Charlotte Gillain—are conducting their research at Plaatsmaken and Theater a/d Rijn, taking their first steps into the cultural field. Their work touches on social themes and is characterized by diverse analog and digital art forms, exploring new ways to experience art.  

Arnhems Stadsatelier is made possible with support from the municipality of Arnhem.  

Sharing Experiences, Methods, and Research  

Creating art across different domains requires diverse approaches. A key principle of Arnhems Stadsatelier is to share the research, experiences, and methods that precede the final works. In addition to public events, the research will be documented through various (online) publications, videos, photo reports, and interviews with the artists, conducted by curator, art journalist, lecturer, and moderator Lieneke Hulshof. Post-show discussions will be organized with audiences and participants.  

Abhishek Thapar will involve ArtEZ students in his research on social-artistic work and his documentary-style approach to storytelling. The Hub will develop programs centered around sharing artistic research.  

The four partner organizations believe in giving a new generation of makers the space to experiment with new forms of art across various disciplines. With this initiative, they highlight Arnhem as a city where makers can continue to develop their craft, even after completing a creative or artistic education. The artistic research at Arnhems Stadsatelier delves into audience engagement, reaching those who do not naturally encounter art, and fostering cross-disciplinary work.  

The pilot edition of Arnhems Stadsatelier runs from September 2024 to February 2025. Create in Arnhem!  

Want to participate in a project? Sign up via fleur@residentiesarnhem.nl  

Follow the latest updates on Instagram: @arnhems_stadsatelier

Image: Mel Kikkert photographed by Lisa Kraaijeveld 

The Indian-Dutch theater maker and storyteller Abhishek Thapar creates visually striking and intimate performances that blur the line between documentary and fiction. He intertwines personal narratives with major global themes.  

Now settling in Arnhem for his latest project, Lacuna Kitchen, Thapar will premiere this work at Theater a/d Rijn in April 2025. It is neither an ordinary restaurant, a traditional theater production, nor a typical community project, but rather a fusion—where the kitchen becomes a stage for transformation.  

Lacuna Kitchen creates a space where the stories of others—particularly those of kitchen workers with a migration background—are brought to light. Through shared experiences of food and storytelling, Abhishek Thapar aims to build cultural and emotional bridges, fostering deep understanding and healing.  

During the research phase, audiences will have the opportunity to join Kitchen Telling Events, where these stories come to life.  

Learn more about Abhishek Thapar’s project here.

Graduated in 2023 (BEAR ArtEZ), Ro Smit invites the audience to participate in workshops that culminate in a collective exhibition, focusing on memories and their loss. He explores how objects gain meaning through memories and conducts research on screen printing techniques at Plaatsmaken.  

Learn more about Ro Smit’s project here.

Graduated in 2023 (BEAR ArtEZ), Levi Overvest ventures into Klarendal, gathering topics through a democratic voting process that reflect the concerns of young residents in Arnhem. These themes serve as inspiration for new work, which he will create at Plaatsmaken. Levi is researching screen printing on ceramics. The resulting artworks will be exhibited in public spaces in Klarendal and at Plaatsmaken.  

Learn more about Levi Overvest’s project here.

Graduated in 2023 (Creative Writing ArtEZ), Mel Kikkert is fascinated by the internet and its inhabitants, exploring interpretations of this world. They push the boundaries between the virtual and the physical realms. Topics such as role-playing and the distance between fantasy and reality are central to their work. At Theater a/d Rijn, Mel is investigating theater as a medium and creating new work through words, images, and digital tools.

Graduated in 2021 (Mime Training AHK), Charlotte Gillain works from the body and seeks to make the way our brain stores memories tangible. Together with designer Zak Lennard, they explore the physical experience of remembering and visualize this inner world through digital design.

Arnhems Stadsatelier

Maps of the Art Route in Schuytgraaf are available for free at Plaatsmaken.

On Thursday, October 24, both the installation and festive unveiling of Larissa Esvelt’s artwork took place.
A plump, slightly ‘grumpy’ water nymph seems to have just emerged from beneath the surface. Her head is covered in aquatic plants, and her glossy surface still appears wet from the water.

The young artist Larissa Esvelt (1998, Wageningen) was commissioned to respond to the landscape—and more specifically, to the ever-present water in the neighborhood. The two-meter-tall ceramic water nymph is situated in the canoe pond: one of the defining areas of the district, striking in its length and width. From this spot, you can look from the heart of the neighborhood all the way to the Veluwe massif.

Larissa drew inspiration from historical, classicist fountains and water features, but especially from what lies beneath the surface: the aquatic plants, mussels, fish, and the rich variety of colors in the ever-changing water. To Larissa, the figure is a manifestation of the mysterious, the hidden, and the wondrous—things not only found beneath the surface of the water, but within the neighborhood itself. The glossy glaze in shades of green, blue, and brown was carefully chosen to echo the natural hues of the water. The leaves on her head droop heavily over her body and are playfully stylized. These same plants also grow on the bottom of the pond in real life. Beneath the figure sits a shell—a swan mussel, a species found in Schuytgraaf.

Larissa often works with materials and techniques traditionally seen as feminine, such as textiles and ceramics. She puts a twist on familiar artistic motifs like the female body, which frequently takes center stage in her work—depicted in exaggerated, absurd postures. Her work is both attractive—thanks to its rich, humorous, and imaginative nature—and slightly unsettling. In doing so, she seeks to create space and empathy for the ‘strange’.

Larissa Esvelt lives and works in Arnhem and The Hague. She earned her Bachelor in Fine Arts in 2020 at BEAR ArtEZ, Arnhem. In 2024, she will begin her Master’s in Artistic Research at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague.

About the Art Route
Since early 2021, preparations have been underway for the art route, developed at the request of the Municipality of Arnhem by production house Plaatsmaken. Plaatsmaken appointed Arnhem-based curator Fleur Junier to shape the content of the route.

The Schuytgraaf Art Route will be officially opened on November 8, 2024.

The Schuytgraaf Art Route is supported by the Mondriaan Fund, the BPD Culture Fund, and the Municipality of Arnhem.

Location: At the canoe pond, near the bridge and opposite Kustvaart.

Follow us on Instagram @Kunstroute_schuytgraaf

'De Nimf'

On January 19, the first artwork of the Schuytgraaf Art Route was completed.

The lookout tower Take Off by Rob Voerman closely resembles a spaceship. It gives the impression of having just landed, yet it also seems ready to take off again at any moment. Space travel is a recurring theme in Voerman’s work, which is characterized by a visual language deeply connected to architecture—both futuristic and decaying. He draws inspiration from industrial architecture and Brutalism, where the function of a building strongly dictates its form.

The Art Route Schuytgraaf is supported by the Mondriaan Fund, the BPD Culture Fund, and the Municipality of Arnhem.

'Take Off'

Plaatsmaken is looking for volunteers to serve as hosts in the exhibition space on Saturdays from 12 to 5 PM.

We’re looking for enthusiastic, communicative people who enjoy engaging with visitors and sharing information about Plaatsmaken, as well as the presentations and projects we organize. Of course, we’ll provide you with all the necessary background and materials.

Plaatsmaken is a growing art platform where experimentation and togetherness are core values. Our inclusive artistic program centers around our printmaking studios, as well as dialogue and meaningful exchange. We’re a close-knit team and regularly organize activities together.

Want to become a Plaatsmaker? Send us a short motivation letter along with your CV. A volunteer stipend is available, and you’ll also have free access to our studio facilities.

Interested? Get in touch via info@plaatsmaken.nl

Wanted: Hosts for our exhibition space

dit is m adil zeefdruk .mov

We had a wonderful and successful Spring Gather Together last week.

There were many people who joined us in celebrating the change of the season by attending workshops, eating soup, watching, listening, and walking. The Mobile Unit (a portable screen printing station) had its debut at Velperpoort station, where passersby could screen print on the spot.

Hospitality Club came up with Protest Pasta—screen printing on fresh pasta, followed by enjoying a lovely meal with it. In a workshop led by Sunflower Soup, a font was designed for the Mobile Unit Lino. The letters were tested on our billboard and will appear in unexpected locations in the near future.

We walked past historical sites and listened to readings from Republishing: Umoja Zwarte Vrouwenkrant by Anne Krul and Tabea Nixdorff of Archival Textures, a preview for the program by Lenn Cox.

We were enchanted by Abhishek Thapar and his performance about his hometown in India, and Zaban Razdar shared his adventures on the West Bank. The striking images that accompanied these stories are on display at our exhibition space. Meanwhile, we also hung up new works by notshitprint, Zaban Razdar, curators Sunflower Soup, and in the basement, the impressive installation of 470 linocuts by Willemijn Theisens. All of these works will still be on view in the coming time, so please come and take a look!

We thank all the visitors, the artists, Sunflower Soup, Hospitality Club, and Lenn Cox, as well as the Municipality of Arnhem and the Mondriaan Fund. Now we can rest easy knowing that all the seeds for the future are ready to sprout, the plants can finally grow and spread.

More about the (year)programs H0Ha and Time Out/Tune In, can be found here.

Watch the video here for a retrospective of the Spring Gathering 2025.

Photography: Django van Ardenne

Looking back: Spring Gather Together

Maps of the Art Route Schuytgraaf are available for free at Plaatsmaken.

The second artwork for the Art Route in Schuytgraaf has been unveiled: Echo from the Past by Keiko Sato is now in the neighborhood!

Keiko Sato (1957, Iwaki) finds inspiration in the idea of lingering traces and responds through her work to the rich history of Schuytgraaf. Archaeological findings show that Schuytgraaf was already inhabited seven thousand years ago. Evidence of habitation dates from the Middle and Late Iron Ages, the Roman period, and the early Middle Ages. In addition, heavy fighting took place in and around Schuytgraaf during the Second World War. In the final six months before liberation, the front line even ran straight through the area.

Keiko says: “Sometimes, residents aren’t aware of what once happened right in their surroundings. With this work, I want to make Schuytgraaf’s past visible and tangible.”

The artwork Keiko created for the art route is a ‘shelter’ in the form of a broken egg, reminiscent of a bunker. In addition to the enclosed nature of the piece, visitors experience a sense of freedom when looking up at the sky through the open roof. When you direct your gaze downward, you see traces of the past—Keiko incorporated metal archaeological objects from Schuytgraaf into a floor installation, using finds from the Arnhem archaeological depot.

The work is located at the foot of a hill in an ecological zone near a piece by Rob Voerman. This no-man’s-land in the middle of the neighborhood, where nature is allowed to take its course, forms an essential part of the experience. To reach it, visitors walk through a rugged, seemingly untamed area. In summer, the artwork is sheltered by tall grasses and wild herbs; in winter, by shrubs that partly conceal it.

For more information, follow us on Instagram: @Kunstroute_schuytgraaf

'Echo from the past'

Route maps are available free of charge at Plaatsmaken.

Art route Schuytgraaf has been completed.

Across the Arnhem district, four permanent public artworks have been realized. Stichting Plaatsmaken was commissioned by the Municipality of Arnhem to develop this route and enlisted Arnhem-based curator Fleur Junier to shape its content.  

The four artworks reflect the identity of the neighborhood: its landscape character, historical background, and the evolving identity of the community and its residents. Each piece has been created specifically for its location. A diverse group of artists was selected, varying in age, background, and gender. All of them have a unique, distinctive approach, a strong connection to the region, and have actively engaged with the neighborhood and its people. The route is further enriched by a Poetry Route, displayed on several utility boxes in Schuytgraaf.  

The goal of Art Route Schuytgraaf is to enhance the quality of public space, improve livability, and foster a sense of recognition and connection. The artworks serve as meeting points, landmarks, and invitations for dialogue or contemplation.  

Alderman Cathelijne Bouwkamp is pleased with the initiative:  

"Public art is of great importance to Arnhem. Art has the power to surprise and inspire, and I expect this route to do just that. It is wonderful to see residents involved in the project. The fact that commissions are primarily given to regional artists also strengthens our visual arts sector."  

Art Route Schuytgraaf is for everyone—local residents, visitors from the region, or tourists exploring Arnhem. The route can be experienced on foot or by bike, and each artwork can also be enjoyed individually. A QR code at each piece provides digital information about the work and its artist. The route also has its own Instagram page—don’t forget to tag us in your favorite artwork! #kunstrouteschuytgraaf #stichtingplaatsmaken  

Plaatsmaken drew on its extensive experience to create this route. In 2019, during Biënnale Gelderland in downtown Arnhem, the foundation demonstrated its ability to curate a compelling art route featuring Gelderland-based artists for a broad audience.  

"For Plaatsmaken, it is essential to serve as a platform for artists and to bring art to the people. This project strongly embodies both elements," says Inge Pollet, Artistic Director of Plaatsmaken.  

Many parties participated in the realization of the art route: the feedback group consisting of experts and residents, the project team of the Municipality of Arnhem. The artists involved and the many executive producers, but also the primary schools involved and their students and teachers, education professionals, district coordinators and landscape architects.

Art Route Schuytgraaf was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Municipality of Arnhem, the Mondriaan Fund, and BPD Cultuurfonds.

Steel, Polyurethane, polyurea with NCS blue coating paint

Next to the railway, between the river Rijn and Arnhem Zuid station, an eight-meter-high sculpture rises. An abstract, irregular tube that extends in all directions, like a three-dimensional doodle. The deep Persian blue contrasts sharply with the green and brown that dominate the surrounding environment. This ‘doodle’, a quick, partly unconscious gesture, a starting point for an action, idea, or concept, contrasts with the planned, orderly layout and design of the neighborhood. The location next to the railway was chosen deliberately. The artwork serves as a striking landmark visible from the train. From the train window, the piece may read two-dimensionally, like a framed abstract drawing or signature.

In the expressive work of Arash Fakhim (1987, Tehran), materiality, the looseness and speed of the gesture, and the play between flatness and spatiality are central. A recurring theme in Fakhim’s practice is the desire to clash with the imposed rules of the medium. Instead of opting for a more traditional material like metal or stone for a public artwork, he chooses polyurethane, the raw material of spray foam, which he coats with a waterproof layer. A metal frame provides form and stability. He shapes the form and surface of the 60-meter-long tube by hand to emphasize expressiveness and looseness.

Fakhim was invited to respond to the landscape of the neighborhood with his work. The artist is fascinated by the neat, linear layout of our landscape, in contrast to, for example, his home country, Iran. He has intensively researched how his work behaves in the boundless public space. Fakhim has sought abstraction and timelessness without sacrificing spontaneity and boldness.

Arash Fakhim, born in Iran, lives and works in Arnhem. In 2016, he graduated from BEAR (fine art) at ArtEZ, Arnhem. His work is included in Collectie De Groen, the collection of Akzo Nobel Art Foundation, and museum De Fundatie.

Find more information here about the completion of 'A Doodle' by Arash Fakhim.

In the artwork ‘Time Keepers’ by Femke Herregraven (1982, Nijmegen), the future of Schuytgraaf, imagined and told by the children of Schuytgraaf, is buried as a time capsule in the hill next to ‘De Speelgaard’. The hill is cut through by two eight-meter-long walls, on which various ‘Time Keepers’ drawn by children are depicted in reverse relief. They guard the time capsule, which lies beneath the floor of the ‘hall’ and will be excavated in ten years.

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