Time Horizons is the theme of the upcoming edition of Into Nature. That was announced this week. With this, the art event hopes to make visitors more aware of time. Artistic director Hilde de Bruijn knew immediately when she walked across the Drouwenerzand: “This area asks for it.”
Together with her we walk through the now rainy area where Into Nature will take place in the summer of 2023: between Drouwen and Exloo in the municipality of Borger-Odoorn.
“I was fascinated by this place from the start, because it is a geological monument”, De Bruijn expresses her admiration for the Drouwenerzand. “It is one of the few drifting sand areas in the Netherlands. Underneath is a salt dome, which is because this used to be the sea. So it breathes time.”
With those traces of time in the landscape, Into Nature wants to tell its visitors the story of time and more importantly: “I think it is necessary to teach us long-term thinking,” says De Bruijn. “People are used to often giving priority to short-term thinking, satisfaction. It is an invitation to reflect on the idea that time is our own invention. People determine how the agreements about time are made and this also differs per culture. “
How the Time Horizons theme subsequently manifests itself in art can be done in all kinds of ways: “Here we are now walking on the Drouwenerzand. That is a vulnerable area. That is why we have chosen to realize a sound walk here. That will be a work by an artist who knows a lot about the theme of ‘deep time’ and can take you through the area through a kind of audio tour.”
About fifteen to eighteen works of art will be placed in nature. There are two walking and cycling routes, one of which leads visitors around Drouwen and Bronneger and the other starts and ends at Exloo. There the route passes through the state forests, the LOFAR area and the rolling fields.
“This area is part of the second round that we are making,” says De Bruijn when we arrive between Exloo and Buinen. “With the presence of LOFAR, the largest telescope in the world and a pingo ruin, the remains of a collapsed ice dome from the Ice Age, we can illuminate the theme here in a fantastic way.”
The organization will also work closely with residents and local associations. They have already made contact with a number of residents of the area, asking if they can exhibit in their yard.
Unlike previous editions, there will also be activities prior to the art route. For this, the organization receives a contribution from the cultural program We The North, a collaboration of the three northern provinces. “With this we form an active network of institutions and artists from the neighborhood. In the run-up to the big event, we will regularly organize an activity or already exhibit a work of art.”
The fourth edition of Into Nature will take place in the summer of 2023.