Past, present and future
The exhibition ‘(Un)earth’ by Awoiska van der Molen and Bart Lunenburg opens on the 7th of August. They have worked in Groningen over the past few months, commissioned by Noorderlicht and BPD Cultuurfonds, and responded to the consequences of natural gas extraction. ‘(Un)earth’ is the first public expression of this multi-year collaboration between BPD Cultuurfonds and Noorderlicht.
Awoiska van der Molen’s black-and-white photos and Bart Lunenburg’s almost archaeological installations tilt the image of Groningen. They deal with the beauty and strength of the Groningen countryside and show a different side to Groningen than the news portrayals of recent years, which mostly concern natural gas extraction. I am therefore delighted that we are able to show their work during the Noorderlicht Festival ‘The Makeable Mind’, not only in the old Camera cinema in the centre of Groningen but also in the Burgerweeshuis (BPD headquarters) designed by Aldo van Eyck in Amsterdam.
What is special about the collaboration between Noorderlicht and BPD Cultuurfonds is the mutual trust and the focus on content. This serves as a good basis for the projects to be developed in the coming years, all centred around Groningen’s past, present and future.
Sharon Oldenkotte-Vrolijk is director of Art & Culture at BPD. More about the exhibition of Awoiska van der Molen and Bart Lunenburg here.
