Artists: Aimée Zito Lema & Elisa van Joolen, Sarah van Lamsweerde & Esther Mugambi, Marisca Voskamp van Noord, Judith Westerveld and Marjet Zwaans
Curator: Mariana Lanari

What is happening behind door number 8 in Floradorp? What is the healing power of yarrow? What is the connection between the vastness of the Zaanse Schans, the burning of Christmas trees on New Year’s Eve in Amsterdam North, and the desert in Egypt? Is it "I am lost", "I am missing" or "I have lost"? What is the memory of an item of clothing?
 
In 2017 Nieuw Dakota started the long-term research project Far-off Nearby. Sarah van Lamsweerde & Esther Mugambi, Aimée Zito Lema & Elisa van Joolen, Marisca Voskamp van Noord, Judith Westerveld and Marjet Zwaans have been developing concepts in the past two years with which they chart the translocal and its meaning.They created work that portrays Amsterdam North in unexpected ways, in the form ofan activity, an intervention or a temporary work of art. The effects vary from workshops in community centers with residents who name (painful) issues in the public space, to research into the part "one's mother tongue" plays. Great involvement in social issues and an inquisitive and committed state of mind characterize the participating artists. During the exhibition, the connections with Amsterdam North are constantly (re)activated; with bike rides along the various partners, performances, and language schools that temporarily move their classrooms to the exhibition space. The complete process can beviewed on our website.

Commissioned by Nieuw Dakota, Maarten wrote the essay Far-off and Nearby: On Translocality in the Arts. The essay is part of the publication that will accompany the exhibition, and will be presented on May 19th in the presence of the author and the artists.