‘Going Places’ 1996
a series of 10 weekly multi-disciplinary shows

each evening, a different idea of ‘place’ was mapped out in varied and entertaining ways
even luring the public to places that only exist as a mental construction or a memory: showing the world through the eyes of others
shows consisting of short lectures, interviews, film fragments, slide projections, computer installatiobs, performances and more
every evening we had a sign language interpreter present our words

each programme evening lasted 2 to 3 hours and was organised without any extra funding in the previouw weeks

‘Going Places’ was part of the activities by artist group NEsTWORK in Manifesta 1. Rotterdam 1996
that i was part of
initiated by Jeanne van Heeswijk
main editor Liorah Hoek formed an editorial group
with Jasper van der Made, Gert-Jan van der Vaate, Marijn van der Waa, Mirjam van der Zee and me
presentor was Rob van der Beentjes

all photos here are made from the book ‘NEsTWORK activities during Manifesta 1. Rotterdam 1996, blueprint’, Jeanne van Heeswijk 1998 (ISBN 90 75610-05-X)

the ‘Going Places’ programme was hosted at - then cultural cafe - Zaal De Unie
full programme (with the original Dutch titles, see the English translation in the images):

11 June 1996:

  1. Museum van het Banale / Museum of the Banal
    An evening looking at the charm of ‘ugly’ and ’everyday’ places.
    Paul llegems - the curator of the Frietkotmuseum (Chip Hut Museum) and author of De Frietkotcultuur - presents a hymn to the Belgian chip hut. He will give a lecture about the charm of the chip hut, using slides to enliven it. Designer Ton Matton will present a slide lecture on strange situations that are designed or that simply arise, to set you thinking. Rob Sijmons - journalist - will tell a story about the toxic landscape with
    slides by photographer Wout Berger who has photographed the most polluted places in the Netherlands.

18 June 1996:
2. Onzichtbare Steden / Invisible Cities
An evening about existing, imaginary and lost cities.
The heavenly city of Jerusalem and the divided Jerusalem of today, dragging the past along with it. Rome, Paris, New York: these material cities of stone and cement are often overshadowed by the images we have of them. Cities appeal to our imaginations and thereby sometimes assume mythical proportions. Stories will be read about cities that only exist in books. With Nasim Khaksar (author), Alberta Partisani (artist) and Prof. A. van der Heide (Professor of Hebrew).

25 June 1996:
3. Een Plat Bestaan / A Flat Existence
The time of the great explorers appears to have passed and people think that the world has already been mapped. Appearances are deceptive: there are still white areas, on the ground, below it and above it. This evening will look at unknown places on land and the allure of places deep under the water, far below the ground and high in the air, where above and below are as important as left and right.
Arita Baaijens - desert nomad/author/ biologist - and speleologist Jan Mathesius will talk about their journeys around the Sahara and Irian Jaya respectively. Aviation expert J.A. Tempelman will talk about his experiences in the air; Mr. W.J. Oosterveld, E.N.T. specialist, with a brief lecture on the limitations of the
human body. Wally de Weerdt, biologist, will present slides of the deep-sea landscapes she has seen on her diving trips. Furthermore, another film by artist Mio van der Lijn, and finally a guest column by Pim Fortuyn.

2 July 1996:
4. Synthetische steden / Synthetic Cities
The worlds that come out of the computer are becoming ever more convincing. Although you wouldn’t suspect it from a quick glance at the screen, they can be claustrophobically real. This evening we are going to take a look around a few of these places.
It will not be a guided tour through boring, virtual museums. We will enter the world of speed, realism, violence and interactive user-convenience.
M. Baarspul, engineer, will talk about SIMONA, which will be the best flight simulator in the world.
Journalist Francisco van Jole and publicist Karin Spaink will present a live demonstration of their skills
with the computer programme Doom on a large screen. Then, they will discuss the ideal virtual space with architect Kas Oosterhuis. The latter will show us CD-ROMs, which the public will later be able to explore themselves.

9 July 1996:
5. Van Micro tot Macro / From Micro to Macro landscapes
An evening in which the viewer will be able to go on a three-dimensional journey from the smallest to the largest. All the stories will be illustrated by spectacular stereoscopic slides provided by the Foundation for Notable Photography. The public will be able to personally experience how the head appears to shrink and expand while you look.
Stereo slides by ‘fotast’* Wim van Egmond, will enable the public to experience the beautiful and alienating world of micro-stereoscopy for the first time.
Through this, the minuscule art works by artist P.H. Connaughton will be experienced as life-size. While the archaeologist, W.H. Metz uncovers archaeological sites from the air, the physical geographer Roel Snieder shows us (in stereo) the inside of the earth.

  • ‘fotast’ is a term self-coined by Wim van Egmond, meaning a mix between fantasy and photographer)

16 July 1996:
6. De Cel / The Cell
The elevator you thought you would be getting out of very soon, is stuck between two floors.
Or, to put it more subtly, you have chosen to live with others in a closed community. Thus, you find yourself in a space you can’t simply leave. In short, you are behind a lock and bolt, willingly or not, with others or alone.
An evening about the charm of imprisonment.
Artist Alicia Framis will talk about her project Arte habitable in a house in Deurloo-street in Amsterdam. At her request, four artists have been shut up there together for three months to live and work. Historical
criminologist Herman Franke exposes the thinking behind solitary confinement. Psychologist Hans van de Sande strings the pros and cons of confinement together into a narrative using video clips and other images. Furthermore, a travel story by Lies Faber and a column by Monica Soeting.

23 July 1996:
7. Spokanië / Spookania
This evening will look at a place that has been seen by very few: Spookania. That beautiful country of islands has not even been discovered by the tourist industry, in spite of the efforts of the Spookanian government.
Roland Tweehuysen, linguist and friend of Spookania, wrote a comprehensive guide to Spookania some time ago. He will illuminate a number of aspects of Spookanian culture through the language. The public will be instructed on the notable grammatical and lexicological features of Spookanian. The singer Mania Kats, accompanied on the piano by Marcel Johansen, will perform a number of Spookanian songs. The public will also be able to enjoy the special Spookanian beer ‘Leeserf’. A column by Monica Soeting will conclude the evening.

30 July 1996:
8. De Uitgestrekte Stad / The Stretchable City
The modern metropolis, in terms of percentages, is coming to consist more and more of suburbs. While the centre is not expanding, the suburbs are washing further across the landscape, flowing over into the suburbs of neighbouring cities. This evening, talks will be given by people who are fascinated by suburbs and the contemporary metropolis.
Designer Lucas Verweij will show his map of the Randstad (the area in Holland covered by the largest cities and the spaces in between) which will reveal that the only hope for a Dutch metropolis lies in Zoetermeer.
Fragments of and interview with the author Robert Vernooy will be presented in which he talks about his predilection for suburbs and suburban life. Liorah Hoek will give a lecture about her experiences growing up in the suburbs. Monica Soeting will close the evening.

6 August 1996:
9. Het Privé Domein / The Private Domain
This evening we will explore a place where we always are, but for which there is no exact word: the private domain. Apart from one’s own body, this domain consists of the minimum space of movement around the body. Entering this terrain is a precarious business: the activity radius of privacy depends on the norms of the person who is being approached. A journey of discovery in this confusing territory, enclosed as it is by invisible, semi-permeable and flexible borders.
Arjen Mulder, author of the book Het twintigste-eeuwse lichaam (The Twentieth Century Body) will be asked about the ‘sensory deprivation tank’ (in which you can float deprived of all sensory contact with the outside world) and other typically twentieth-century bodily experiences. Further, Karin Arink (artist) and Karin Spaink (publicist) will respond to each other in words and images.
Two short videos by the artists Mio van der Lijn will be presented, as well as Monica Soeting’s fourth column.

13 August 1996:
10. Tour du Monde / The Grand Tour
Right outside our Zeitgeist, upbringing and culture, there lies the limit of our ability for renewal. Although people want to develop, they can only do this in small steps. On this final Tuesday evening we want to seduce and stimulate the audience with an excess of unknown stories and smells in order to take them to the furthest reaches of thought and taste. As was already known in the nineteenth century, there is nothing better than a Grand Tour to break down mental barriers.
Philosopher Elsbeth Brouwer will lead you through the twilight zone of the thinkable and unthinkable under the title Paradises and Utopias. As an extension of this, there will be a story by Josien Laurier. Marleen de Vries, a historical expert on the Netherlands, will talk about eighteenth-century imaginary travel tales and food sociologist Anneke van Otterloo will talk about of the kitchen of former times.
Our chef du maison, Marijn (Rien) van der Waa, will also enable us to taste things we have never dared taste before. The evening will be completed by a last column by Monica Soeting.

Going Places’ with contributions from:

in Het Privé Domein / The Private Domain, on 6 August 1996
i showed some of my art works and had a dialogue with Karin Spaink
in preparation for this she wrote this text on ao my work (external link!)

another collaborative performance piece: ‘Stories to tell Each Other’ 2010 / ‘Instruction.Sculptor.Sculpture’ 2011 /

another research piece on language: ‘In a Manner of Speaking - First Language Presentations’ 2015 /