Foundation Art and Public Space
artist: Jeanne van Heeswijk, Dennis Kaspori
located in: Amsterdam,
client: AFK (Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst), SKOR, Stadsdeel Slotervaart, Digitale Pioniers, De Dageraad
The project Face Your World enables young people to investigate the environment in which they live. It gives them instruments so that they can – like a genuine town planner – change their environment. In the Netherlands this project was set up as a VMBO (lower secondary professional education) school project under the supervision of artist Jeanne van Heeswijk. The software that was customized for this project - the so-called Interactor – is an interactive current impression of the neighborhood and features a virtual town planner who functions as a coach when making new plans for the neighborhood.
In January 2005 and with the support of the AFK programme, Face Your World started the Stedelijklab (Urban Lab) in Amsterdam’s borough of Slotervaart. This project is a pilot for the Netherlands and can, in principal, be used in every elementary syllabus of the VMBO as an instrument for designing one’s own environment. The initial results will be presented in Slotervaart on July 5th.
Jeanne van Heeswijk
,
Dennis Kaspori
Face your World
Face Your World - Interactor software
Jeanne van Heeswijk developed Face Your World in 2002 for Columbus, Ohio. This was in cooperation with Wexner Center for Arts, COTA (Central Ohio Transport Authority) and the Greater Columbus Arts Council's Children. A city bus was converted into a digital workshop for children aged 6-12. In cooperation with SKOR who also commissioned the project, the Interactor was researched to see whether it could be further developed for the lower grades of the VMBO.
Stedelijklab Slotervaart (Urban Lab Slotervaart)
Based on tests the software was further developed into a completely renewed Dutch version featuring extra options and catering to a slightly older target group (ages 10-15). Based on this 2.0 version and with the support of SKOR and the AFK, the pilot project started out in Amsterdam’s borough of Slotervaart.
In the Stedelijklab which is essentially a gym hall converted into a design studio, students of the Professor Einstein elementary school and students of the Calvijn Junior College (lower secondary professional education) designed a new park. The park is to be named Staalmanpark and will be located next to the square. The students worked together with Van Heeswijk, Dennis Kaspori, Slotervaart’s design department and outside experts. The designs were not only based on their own wishes but also on those of other local residents. In addition to this the design needed to satisfy certain conditions. As a result young people learn to make conscious choices and the results of this are tangible since the park will actually be realized by the borough.
Initial ideas and rough drafts
On Thursday 19th May 2005, an open day was held in the Stedelijklab (Urban Lab) Slotervaart. Here the first ideas for and rough drafts of the park were presented. These were, among others, based on the acquired information and designs of the youth involved. Local residents could also voice their opinions of the various designs and ideas. The results of this presentation will be used in the follow-up programme that will lead to the definitive design.
On Wednesday 16th July the presentation of the tentative design will take place in the Stedelijklab (Urban Lab) Slotervaart. On that day local residents and others who are interested can pay a visit and make a design or view the designs of others.
For more information and for the accounts of Dennis Kaspori regarding the progress of the students, you can check out the Face Your World website:
www.faceyourworld.nl.
