It seemed as soon as we'd fallen into our beds late Friday night we were getting up again to go back to B.a.d. for the second day of our exhibition. For Saturday afternoon we had planned to hold a discussion about city planning with the public, since we were exhibiting in a neighborhood that has historically been marginalized by governmental powers and urban planners. We thought it would be interesting to ask participating visitors what their various neighborhoods are like, in order to think about the ways city planning influences where and how we live- in the south of Rotterdam for example, it is blantantly obvious that Dutch urban planners have neglected to build up cultural institutions and public amenities, or given it nearly the same attention and funding as in the north. Then we figured conversation would take whatever turns it wanted to, and we could use the Question Bowl as a source of conversation starters if needed, centered around the living room area.
Unfortunately it seemed that all of the visitors that had planned to come to the exhibition had come on Friday night, understandably for food and drink and partying, and we only had two or three people wander in off the street for the four hours we were there on Saturday. Nonetheless we still had most of our group of 18 hanging around the space, so it didn't feel too disappointing. Instead of following our schedule we enjoyed each other's company and took the time to relax after a crazy week, and we were still enlivening the space we'd created as we doodled in sketchbooks, chatted in the living room, and shared lunch in the garden.
Jess continuing her installation outside on the sidewalk:
Marina, Nateish, Alex, and Beatrice, doodling...
Once we decided we probably wouldn't have many visitors, we decided to all go for a walk through Otto's art route. Inside the exhibition he had left a little sign hanging just inside the door indicating that there were things to be seen outside the exhibition space, with a pedestal with maps visitors could take to guide them around a short walk through the neighborhood of Charlois. The route wound in between houses and through little pedestrian paths and tiny parks, showing people bits of Charlois that most people wouldn't otherwise see if they don't live there. Most of the work was in the form of plywood boards with text or imagery pasted to them and attached to buildings, poles, or stuck in the ground, and the content of the works usually pertaining to the neighborhood, the context of the space, and the ideas of city planning, public space, and public art. Many of the texts and images were by Otto's friends and family, and in addition to Otto's distinctive stylized drawings.
These first pieces were hanging from a replica of the facade of B.a.d., which was built just next to B.a.d. in order to relocate the local students who used to hang in front of B.a.d.'s doors- it gave them another place to loiter and smoke, which they would do anyway, but now in their own space instead of B.a.d.'s.
Further down the street:
Clare trying out what appeared to be a birdhouse...
...which attracted curious stares from neighbors.
Otto gets feedback from the locals:
We were delighted to see that a group of small children playing in the park found the pieces very interesting. Though they were quite shy they nevertheless took some of our maps and went on the hunt for the pieces themselves.
A football-related piece in a football field:
A piece showing someone DJing, on a public pretend DJ table in a park:
I found the work on the walk really interesting and strong and I was glad to see other people besides our artist group becoming interested in it, particularly six-year-olds. A lot of the ideas it was talking about and a lot of what Otto tries to do with his work- reach audiences outside the art world, being aware of context and social issues- are things I get really excited about and that I also try to achieve with my work.
For the rest of the day we hung around together and ate lunch outside, "being in the space..." as Beatrice and I liked to joke. A lazy Saturday was exactly what we needed after a crazy week and long Friday night, and we felt ready for our next and last day of the exhibition on Sunday.
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