Education | VHDG

Our education team – led by Siska Alkema – develops and organizes educational and connecting programs around VHDG’s projects, in which we bring together the artistic practice of working artists and the experiences of students from Leeuwarden and the surrounding province. This often takes place in collaboration with the project’s artist(s) or with students from the Teacher of Visual Arts and Design program at NHL/Stenden.

For VHDG, education holds an important place in our mission to enrich individual lives in Friesland through our program. Art education teaches young people to form their own viewpoints and express what they find important, enabling them to ultimately change the world. Art helps people articulate values such as fairness, equality, diversity, and individuality in places where, in their view, these values are lacking.

The (young) participants are playfully and creatively challenged in the way they think and in expressing their own view of the world. At the same time, we see this uninhibited and playful way of thinking as an added value for the artists.

The target groups for our educational activities vary: for example, our workshops are offered to primary schools, secondary schools, and vocational (MBO) schools. But VHDG’s educational work also takes place outside school settings. For instance, workshops are organized at various asylum seekers’ centers and community centers, and we regularly host group tours at Kunstruimte H47 to conclude an art project or educational trajectory. This educational trajectory enables us to integrate diverse perspectives and voices from a wide range of participants into our program.

We want to show that creating art can be a collective project in which everyone – from audience to artist – has something to learn. We offer depth, give new voices a platform, and inspire our target groups by providing new encounters and perspectives. Art helps people see the world in a different way.

Genius Loci in Leeuwarder Bos

The connecting project Genius Loci with artist Faisel Saro and forest ranger Marrigt van de Valk started on October 2 with groups of students from the International Transition Class (ISK) in Leeuwarden.

An art project set in the natural environment of the Leeuwarderbos, in collaboration with Oerol, Kunstkade, and Kunstinitiatief VHDG. Central to the project is the connection between humans and nature. The students are encouraged to contribute from their own backgrounds to the question of what role nature plays in their lives and what it means to them. This meaning, shaped by their cultural backgrounds, is discussed in an accessible yet vulnerable way, setting the tone for inviting the students to do the same. During this project week, Faisel and Marrigt guide the students through an initial exploration of the place and the history of the Leeuwarderbos. The educational program will focus on artistic research and nature research.

‘What do you feel, hear, and see when you stand here in the forest?’ Marrigt asked the group. ‘I feel the peace and hear singing birds,’ one of the students said. And as she spoke, a bird began to whistle. It was magical, with the sunbeams shimmering through the Leeuwarderbos. It was a beautiful first day, searching for connection with each other and with the environment.