Erfgoed, Center for ecological (un) learning.
Stichting The Outsiders and CASCO - Art Instituut Working for the Commons. Utrecht, 2017-2019
Center for Ecological (Un)learning (CEU) is an initiative between my practice The Outsiders and Casco art instituut working for the Commons to build an institutional practice of ecology and art. The first official phase of this collaborative endeavor is Erfgoed (Agricultural Heritage and Land Use),
a project taking place at a dilapidated farmhouse
in Leidsche Rijn, a sprawling new residential neighborhood in the city of Utrecht. The farmhouse, once part of a large tract of farmland, is located near the Terwijde shopping mall and train station, both of which are named after the farm. The CEU initiated Erfgoed in 2017 by temporarily opening a project site in the farmhouse and drawing inspiration from the many questions and stories that surround it. Why is the farmhouse empty? Where have the farmers relocated? If the farms in the area are
gone, then where does the food for the residents
of Leidsche Rijn come from? The Erfgoed project opens by asking the community, What are the future possibilities of this farmhouse and how can “we” –
in common – make it happen? An initial premise of openness is a way to investigate ecological practice that our highly urbanized and industrialized societies urgently need to engage with.
First time we met the owner of the farmhouse, 2013
Erfgoed, Opening 2018Op stap met Riek Bakker, bike tour with the designer of the neighborhood 2018
Builded infrastructure
The Outsiders exhibition at CASCO art institute 2018
Plou´s role at The Outsiders, next to initiating hands on projects, includes financial and team management, design, build, communication and administration.
As the farm has been sold, we are at the moment farm-less. Therefore, in 2020 we started a project called “Travelling farm museum” were we public research the agricultural history of Leidsche Rijn and surroundings.
