(1/2 - MORNING)

Robert Ronquillo: “On 28 October, we came together from different corners of the Netherlands for an expedition in Amsterdam. On arrival at the Warmoesstraat we met Eva Susova, who gave us access next to the well-known W139 to a kind of 'hofje', which was in fact more of a secret alley –A kind of microcosm within the building block, where people live and work.

Eva brought us together in the spacious studio called the Jacuzzi, a space that arose from the merging of several choreographers into a collective. Here we were welcomed with hot coffee and tea and the usual small talk about housing issues and beautiful roundabouts.

Soon we were introduced to Eva, getting to know her better in her artistic journey. After which we were invited to participate in her movement / voice practice. Exercises that had emerged from her own practice and had been adapted for the Midseason Resorters.

We sought comfort within the space on colourful socks and grey moving blankets. In comfortable positions, we practised breathing exercises and explored sensory stimuli from parts of the body that are easily forgotten in everyday life. In the following phase, we used our vocal cords to produce sounds from the inner body in response to each other. It reverberated through the ears as post-modern sounds from an ensemble of primary vocals.

In the next segment, we participated in an interplay with a partner by bending, pulling, pushing and dragging each other's bodies to desired positions and movements of the body or limbs. In the last segment of the movement exercise, we played the roles of the oracle and the writer. While Eva was reading a piece of poetry through the PA speakers, the oracle moved through the space with the idea of the partner's art practice. The writer tried to read this in a form of automatic writing.

After the physical exercises with Eva Susova, we went to the neighbouring art book shop called Sans Serriffe. Where we were greeted by Pieter Verbeke, a co-founder. Sans Serriffe is an intimate looking bookstore where space and room are made for exhibition and open discussion.

An enrichment of physical applications and being surrounded by colourful literature made this expedition a successful adventure.”

(2/2 - AFTERNOON)

Hans-Hannah: part 2, The field trip. Leaving the hidden garden of jacuzzi behind, following our path to San Serriffe. When you open the door, you enter into a calm world with tons of different perspectives, all being told through written language. Pieter takes us into the history of the place, how San Serriffe is way more than just a bookstore. We find ourselves in a corridor full of cultural organizations, if we pass another corner we enter W139. An artist run exhibition space. With at the moment an exhibition where all artists find themselves in the in between, and embody this position as a political one. A diverse inspiring exhibition in a place that rests on a long political history. Unfortunately, they are financially having a hard time at the moment. But full passion Nadia tells us about the history and the relationship they have with the neighborhood community. Everybody wants to prevent this creative and cultural area to fall apart. Our last stop is the Rijksakademie’s exhibition of its 150 years anniversary. Here we encounter another strong community of artists, that over the past had to fight for the existence of the place and the importance of art. While we drink a beer, and talk, the evening falls. Thanks to everyone for this inspiring day.

eva susova obtained her MA in Fine Arts at Sandberg Institute, her BA in Choreography at the SNDO at Amsterdam University of Arts. She works as an artist, a choreographer, a performer, and an educator. Her work investigates the politics of the body, movement, voice- the corporeality, through the production of experiences. These experiences often allude to imaginative and speculative fiction, represented in forms of audio, live performance, video, text and other.  Her research is dedicated to the multiplicity of the (female) voice, the volumes of voice, and modes of softening structures. Her work is necessarily and consciously in a dialogical practice with the intersectional feminist discourse.

eva is a co-founder of Jacuzzi, an artist-run space at the crossroads of performance, visual arts, and time-based media in Amsterdam

S.R. Niekoop & Jesse van Epenhuijsen: “We were invited to go on a cultural bike tour through the city of Groningen. On this cloudy and grey Saturday, we started our adventure at Het resort.

To warm up we were welcomed by Bart Nijstad who introduced us to himself and his practice.

He shared a lot, but the moral of the story was; even though you have a terrible graduation show and don’t know what to do afterwards, you can still win awards as an artist and even be the judge for these awards.

It was a great starting point to then continue our journey to gallery Block C where Koen Taselaar had a book presentation. With free cake and carrots! Afterwards we cycled to NP3’s M0Bi i where Zwaan Ipema gave us a quick presentation about the show and the vision of the space.

We continued to our second last stop to have the (not so) secret exhibition location reveal! Spoiler alert: dress warm and beprepared to break the ice! *wink*.

After a quick fries 'n cola break we cycled to our last stop; Moshpit of Creation. Hugo showed us their amazing space and talked about the studio situation in Groningen. Especially how important it is that artists collectivize themselves in order to express their needs for affordable studio space

We all left with a great impression. It was obvious to us that Groningen is truly there for young and emerging artists. Which was warming and promising to experience.

See you soon!”

Bart Nijstad “In my drawings, comics and video's everyday subjects play an important role. The environments I create and the topics I raise are sober and Dutch. With recognizable motifs I try to create a familiar world. This world can be a bedroom, a small town and its inhabitants or the interior of a train.

In addition to the subjects and environments in my work that depict the real world, there are dream sequences or alienating events. Thus it may happen that in my work a person standing in a bathroom is shown. A seemingly normal event. However when followed by a scene where the person falls down and lays helpless on the bathroom-floor while his face is melting, it starts getting weird. At this point I play with the fundament of the created structure. This is what it is all about, leaving the viewer curious and confused.”