Art

Wonders of the underground world unveiled at Amsterdam`s interactive exhibition

Szilvia Szabó — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 12:54:02 +0000

Wonders of the underground world unveiled at Amsterdam`s interactive exhibition

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Soil

Exhibition

Urban Development

Art

Education

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Art

The interactive exhibition “Unearthed” opened on April 4th at the ARTIS-Groote Museum in Amsterdam, revealing the hidden world that lies beneath the ground to raise awareness and connect people with the living ecosystem under the surface.

Organisers aim to embrace unique formats to spotlight the connection between healthy soil, urban resilience, and climate change by presenting specific insights and actionable approaches to maintaining better ground life.

“To experience the underground life, visitors of the exhibition can literally crawl into the earth, turning things upside down and making the influence of the soil on urban existence visible,”

says Karlien Pijnenborg, Head of the ARTIS-Groote Museum.

She adds that soil might be unseen for many, but it plays a vital role in contributing to biodiversity, climate adaptation, and ultimately creating a healthy living environment for citizens.

The underground world teeming with life, featuring an intricate network of roots, fungi, and other microorganisms alongside pipes, cables, and pillars that support Amsterdam, is at the heart of the “Unearthed” exhibition.

“Think of worms that help reduce rainwater puddles or trees less likely to be blown over thanks to a healthy soil.”

Karlien Pijnenborg, Head of the ARTIS-Groote Museum. Photo: Samuel van Leeuwen

Besides the interactive installations and an introductory film, the exhibition seeks to answer four key questions: What does the soil of Amsterdam tell us? What lives in the soil? Why is the soil important to you? How do we care for healthy soil?

The concept was developed in collaboration with the Academic Soil Workplace (AWB), a partnership between the municipality of Amsterdam, Waternet, and Naturalis and aligns perfectly with the mission of the ARTIS-Groote Museum to educate and inspire visitors about the interconnectedness of nature and urban living.

The collaborative approach was fuelled by the shared passion of Pijnenborg and renowned soil expert Joyce van den Berg, Chief Design and Landscape Architect at the City of Amsterdam and author of the award-winning book “BiodiverCITY_A Matter of Vital Soil!”.

Joyce van den Berg, Chief Design and Landscape Architect, City of Amsterdam

Berg shares that engaging citizens and raising awareness about the underground ecosystem is very much needed to adopt changes:

“Amsterdam is growing; new buildings are rising, and the city is working on sustainable solutions for energy, mobility, and climate adaptation. Where all these future plans converge, space is becoming increasingly scarce – not just above ground but especially beneath the city. How can we all work together to ensure a healthy soil?”

The Academic Soil Workplace was set up as an experimental, interdisciplinary space and series of events in 2022 to explore innovative approaches to urban soil as part of rethinking urban planning and public space design to address current challenges cities face.

Berg explains further:

“Imagine you are building a street where people can walk, ride bikes, drive cars, and where trees can grow. When we plan that street, we don’t just look at what goes on top, like the asphalt for cars, the sidewalks for people, or the green spaces for trees. We also pay attention to what happens underground, such as where the tree roots grow and where water and power lines run.”

One of the highlights of the “Unearthed” interactive exhibition is the Soil Station, where visitors are encouraged at daily workshops to explore how life goes on in the soil.

For instance, they can participate in the game 'Parliament of Underground Affairs' and immerse themselves in the roles of different lifeforms in the soil or get inspired by the `Soil Poems` written by Dutch actress Marjolijn van Heemstra and even get to write their own soil inspired rhymes.

But you can also crawl into a huge molehill where films are shown about the world's largest organism, and you might realise that living underground is less dirty than you probably think.

Visitors of the "Unearthed" Exhibition can explore life under the ground through various interactive installations. Photo: Henri Bloomers

ARTIS-Groote Museum is well-known for its particular way of getting people involved with different topics, as it strives to turn visits into personal expeditions where visitors can discover just how many characteristics humans share with plants, animals and even microbes.

Pijnenborg explains that revealing surprising connections with nature, like that our intestines perform the same functions as the roots of a tree or that when you learn to crawl as a baby, you move precisely the same way as a crocodile, can help change people`s perspective on how much we connected to and depend on other life forms.

“As it turns out, you appear to be connected to every other living thing, right down to the tiniest fibres in your body.”

Image: ARTIS-Groote Museum

This historic museum continuously hosts exhibits, installations, displays, artworks, films, and stories that will hold up a mirror for you, confront you with questions, and introduce you to new and different perspectives while leaving you to discover answers and ask new questions to maintain and enhance your wonder at the beauty of the Earth.

Although “Unearthed” is a temporary exhibition, the theme of soil will remain part of the permanent collection in the ARTIS-Groote Museum, keeping the topic for conversations through various displays and other formats.

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Sustainable Fashion Runways: An Interview with Louise Boughton

UTOPIA-The-Edit — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:32:55 +0000

Sustainable Fashion Runways: An Interview with Louise Boughton

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Story from: UTOPIA-The-Edit

Behind The Scenes

I was eager to delve into the world of sustainability within the fashion runways and gain an insider’s perspective on the happenings behind the scenes at fashion shows.

In my interview with Louise Boughton @louiseboughton_, an accomplished Irish fashion illustrator and live event artist, she offered compelling insights into the intersection of sustainability and fashion.

Louise’s hands-on approach involves creating freehand sketches and mixed media pieces during live fashion runways, skilfully capturing the ambience, and reflecting the broader political, cultural, and environmental context.

...

Read the full article on UTOPIA-The-Edit online magazine>>

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Aoife Rooney ⬤ Author

Artists joined charity auction to promote and support sustainability agenda

Business Spirit News reporting — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 08:30:42 +0000

Artists joined charity auction to promote and support sustainability agenda

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Artists are contributing to an auction to amplify the message of The Sustainability Summit Earth virtual event focusing on pressing environmental and social issues.

Visual artists have offered their artworks to be part of an online auction brought to life by The Sustainability Summit Earth virtual event to support the overall ethos of the conference.

The 3-day online broadcast event, which takes place 21-23 September 2021 with keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats, spoken word performances and other sessions, is hosted by the Irish production team SX21.

Adam’s Auctioneers will manage the online auction where people can buy artworks of 21 artists from across the globe until 23rd September.

Featured artists include Jim O’Farrell, Robert Shaw, Fiona Kelly and Norman McCluskey, to name a few.

Gavin Downes from the SX21 team says:

“We have 21 artists and photographers from across the world taking part to raise vital funds for our three chosen Not-For-Profit partners of SX21.”

Mo Kelly, Nick Munier and Morgan, showcasing their stunning works of art on Sandymount Strand, Dublin. Image: SX21

These pieces of visual art of the earth and mother nature have been created with an eco-conscious framework, featuring a range of paintings, printmaking, drawings and photography.

All proceeds raised will go directly to the Not-For-Profit partners of The Sustainability Summit Earth event like FoodCloud, Trees, Water & People and 1% For the Planet.

Iseult Ward, CEO of Irish social enterprise FoodCloud, and three contributing artists, Mo Kelly, Nick Munier and Morgan, joined forces with the SX21 team to showcase their stunning works of art on Sandymount Strand in Dublin.

This exciting artist-driven charity initiative champions the sustainability agenda and reflects on the overall ethos of The Sustainability Summit Earth event hosted by SX21.

The online event connects the greatest minds, industry champions, start-ups, investors, public sector officials, NGOs, and the academic sector to collaborate, share, learn and create for the long-term benefit of society, purpose, and the planet.

Student tickets are €29, while general admission tickets are €59 including fees.

Headline image: SX21, featuring artist, Mo Kelly

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Social Art Award to catalyse change towards a greener future

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 12:30:47 +0000

Social Art Award to catalyse change towards a greener future

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Artists are invited to submit artworks in the theme of 'New Greening' for Social Art Award 2021.

The Social Art Award 2021 was launched by The Institute for Art and Innovation for the third time to recognise visionary works from artists who are co-creating positive futures, communicating compelling ideas, concepts, narratives, practices and visions of coexistence.

This award aims to invigorate the rise of social art and encourage more people to create impact and inspire change.

Applications are welcome until 30th April, focusing on this year’s theme “New Greening” providing bright prospects towards climate change, resource-saving, environmental protection, ecosystem recovery, water conservation, biodiversity, resilient cities, and more.

All artists and cultural actors are invited to apply with work they consider relevant to the field of social art.

The overall winner receives 1000 Euro prize money, and three winners will be selected for the final exhibition to present their artwork in Berlin, Germany, in summer 2021.

Furthermore, the top 50 submissions will receive additional exposure through an exhibition raising awareness about building green societies and get featured in the official Social Art Award book for 2021.

Social Art Award 2021

Nicole Loeser, co-founder and director of IFAI, serial entrepreneur with over fifteen years of experience in cross-sectoral collaboration with institutions and corporations worldwide, shared her thoughts about the Social Art Award:

Art engages in questioning and rethinking existing systems and paradigms.

Often, artists can feel the need for change even before people find the words for what might be wrong with a situation.

They can draw our attention towards a created reality that no longer suits us.

In my opinion, artists are visionaries, utopists, even agents for change, with the ability to affect society by creating emotionally captivating experiences.

Social Art is the first attempt to feel the wounds and question the circumstances of our being.

To me, it is evident that if we want to create a liveable future for all creatures on this planet, we need imagination, positive images and narratives that people can mirror themselves in.

It is the aesthetic revolution that preludes the societal revolution.

Nicole Loeser, co-founder and director of The Institute for Art and Innovation

That is why I believe we really need more socially engaged artists to help us find new ways towards regenerative futures and envision and imagine new worlds that people would like to live in.

It is essential for us to promote the importance of social art for society and strengthen social artists' recognition and the value of their work, especially as the art market is usually not open for such positions.

In 2017, the first year of the award, it started as an experiment, whether artists would react to the terms of Social Art.

We were excited to receive artworks from 128 countries, presenting how they practice and define socially engaged art.

We decided to go with the New Greening topic for this year’s award, to call on creative people to start imagining and realising a future of regeneration and restoration of nature - basically a better life for all living being on the planet.

We would like to hear what artists have to say about that.

Can they convince us with their applications to open, interrogate and invigorate the prevailing fabric of understanding that science, technology and governmental policies, such as the Green New Deals, emerge from?

With the award, we want to generate conversation and exchange visions on possible and hopeful futures.

We wish to figure out what could be changed together.

Pink Silence (Social Sculpture in India) by Bogna Grazyna Jaroslwski, winner of Social Art Award 2019

In 2019 the topic was: “We are the people - Peaceful Revolutions”, which mainly attracted artists from conflict zones who empower people to stand up for their rights, freedom, and future.

The exchange on Social Art practices under painful circumstances brought up a lot of negativity, but the spirit of shared human kindness was extraordinary.

Participating artists deeply related to other like-minded people from around the world.

They inspired each other with their bold approaches and humanistic actions for their communities.

It was a very encouraging moment of sharing deep feelings.

We strive to generate meaningful conversations and exchange visions on possible and hopeful futures, so this year we will have side events, including workshops and panels.

We also joined forces with various experts and organisations working in the field of socio-ecological transformation.

I’m always impressed by how fast people and organisations can visualise and design relevant scenarios for a liveable world and how deeply they resonate with their own vision.

This gives me hope that we can accelerate change and be faster in creating new structures.

In the future, we would like to broaden the program beyond the Social Art Award and found interdisciplinary Artists-in-Residency-programs as well as other formats, like experimenting with Real Laboratories.

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March 2021