‘Sensing Sloterplas’: workshop series and water celebration day

Created during the development of Amsterdam Nieuw-West, the Sloterplas was planned as the centre of a large green recreational area for the emerging Westelijke Tuinsteden. The lake was dug between 1948 and 1956 and was eventually made much deeper than originally planned, as the sand from the excavation was needed to raise the surrounding polder land for the construction of the new neighbourhoods.

Since then, the lake and the Sloterpark have become home to plants, animals and many other forms of life, as well as a place where people walk, sail, swim, dive, meet and rest. At the same time, its engineered origins continue to affect its ecology, contributing to ongoing challenges with its water quality. ‘Sensing Sloterplas’ re-considers our technical relationship with water and invites people to spend time with the lake in a collective and attentive way. 

Sensing Sloterplas’ re-considers our technical relationship with water and invites people to spend time with the lake in a collective and attentive way 

Workshops
The first part of the programme takes place in August and September, with a series of workshops at De Natuurkamer and Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof, guided by sound and movement. Through field recording workshops, movement sessions and soundwalks, we will practise becoming more aware of the water and our surroundings. By giving space to our senses, we reflect together on how arriving in our bodies might change our ways of relating.

Field recording workshop
by Mark IJzerman and Ildikó Horváth
Saturday 5 September 15:30-17:30 
De Natuurkamer
Saturday 26 September 11:00-13:30 Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof
Saturday 26 September 15:00-17:30 Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof
Register by sending an email to: sensingsloterplas@gmail.com.

Movement Workshop
by Amit Palgi and Ildikó Horváth
Saturday 29 August 15:00-17:30 
De Natuurkamer
Saturday 5 September 11:00-13:30 Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof
Sunday 27 September 15:00-17:30 Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof

Soundwalks
by Amit Palgi, Rebecca Douglass and Ildikó Horváth
Saturday 29 August 19:30-20:30 
De Natuurkamer (Ildikó)
Saturday 26 September 19:30-20:30 Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof (Amit)
Tuesday 29 September 19:30-20:30 Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof (Rebecca)

All workshops are free and take place in Dutch and/or English. No previous experience is required, and workshops can be attended independently. Movement Workshops and Soundwalks are drop-in; registration is required for the Field Recording Workshops.

Please check the date and location of the workshop you plan to attend, as sessions take place at different meeting points.

For questions: sensingsloterplas@gmail.com

Water celebration day
To close the workshop series, we come together on 3 October at Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof for a day around water and the Sloterplas, from 14:30 to 22:00.

Programme

Throughout the day
Group exhibition with works by Su Melo, Thom van Hoek, Nesie Junyi Wang, Nora Hendriks and Ildikó Horváth
Participatory performance-rituals by de Zachtivist (Jetske Verhoeven & Shannon Westcott)
Forage walk by Rens Spanjaard, time to be announced

16:30: Roundtable discussion with Luna Buwalda, aquatic ecologist at Waterschap AGV, artists Müge Yılmaz and Mark IJzerman, and others to be announced
17:30–19:30: Dinner by Rachelle Traboulsi
19:00: Performance by Annemarie Libbers
20:00–22:00: Sauna sessions by Warm Hearts Sauna