In 2026, artist Benjamin Li will set off on a journey with the Traveling Residency. Following a quest to discover local dishes and Frisian delicacies, he visited more than 100 restaurants. During these visits, he photographed traditional meals in order to create a new special set of quartets. In July, he will return to a selection of these locations, hosting public events and inviting visitors to play the game. The project consists of different stages, from interaction with local restaurant owners, a series of public activities during the summer, and a final presentation in our art space in the fall of 2026. Read more about it below!
About Benjamin
Benjamin Li is a conceptual artist based in Rotterdam. His work explores questions of identity, representation, displacement, everyday life, foodways, and the concept of home. In his work, he approaches these questions through an exploration of Chinese-Indonesian restaurants.
Since 2014, Benjamin has visited over 1.000 Chinese-Indonesian restaurants across the Netherlands in an endeavour to build an archive of them. During these visits, he has collected menus, pieces of tableware, and written memories of his encounters. He has also taken photographs of over 200 unique Chinese-Indonesian dishes at these restaurants.
Curious to read more about Benjamin’s practice? Visit his artist page for further info!
A quest for local Frisian dishes
How does Friesland taste like? And what do these flavours tell about its history, people, and landscape? During the first months of this year, Benjamin had his initial working period in Friesland, where he mapped the region by visiting more than 100 restaurants, looking for traditional Frisian dishes. In each location, he created new works, including photographs of several meals, which will form a new card game of quartets. By dividing the photos into categories, including a new set of rules, Benjamin created a brand new game, which will be presented and played during his traveling residency in July.
Curious to join the events? Stay tuned via our socials to know more!
Traveling Atelier
Based on the restaurants he has visited, and inspired by the Elfstedentocht, Benjamin developed a route along a number of locations in Frisian villages to activate and play the quartet game with their inhabitants, including the restaurant owners! During the month of July, he will make a tour with the Traveling Atelier, hosting a number of public presentations, where people will be invited to interact and play the game.
Benjamin’s work and the documentation of his journeys will be presented in a joint exhibition in VHDG, together with fellow VHDG Lokaal participant Ster Borgman and their project Fries Blauw (Frisian Blue), opening on the 30th of October at 17:00hs. Mark your calendars and join us to celebrate their projects!
About VHDG Lokaal
VHDG’s Traveling Residency is part of our VHDG Lokaal program. Within this program, we organize year-long trajectories in which we invite artists, duos, and collectives to develop new artworks. They do so through field research and close collaboration with local communities in Friesland and its immediate surroundings. By emphasizing embedded practices, we aim to nurture process-oriented projects over a longer timeframe: projects that emerge from the Frisian soil and the lived environments of our public.
When working in a (new) environment, artists need the time to get to know its landscape and its people, to create trust and deeper connections. During an initial residency period in which they engage with the local context, artists shape their year-long process according to their needs.
During this trajectory, artists host several activities open to the public, such as workshops, events, talks, and pop-up presentations, among others, concluding with a final exhibition of their work and its development at VHDG.
VHDG Lokaal is, therefore, a platform that facilitates artistic research, experimentation, and the realization of new works, deeply rooted in the locality of Friesland.
