Every summer, the fire truck of art initiative VHDG tours the Frisian countryside, visiting villages and towns with a thought-provoking art program. This year, the artist duo Suzanne Bernhardt and Philipp Kolmann are joining our Traveling Atelier. With their project Tsiis Gers Grûn, they explore the plant-based revolution in food and food production. In the future, we will eat more and more plant-based foods — but how can we preserve the knowledge and tradition of dairy production.
In the month of July, they will travel across grasslands, farms, a wool spinning mill, and a cheesemaker, and they will also dive into the world of bacteria and soil life. This summer, you can find them in four locations: in Mirns by the IJsselmeer, at Bouwurk/Arcadia in Leeuwarden, at an artisanal cheesemaker in Veenhuizen in Drenthe, and along the Frisian Wadden Sea dike. There, you can meet the artists and join them in their discoveries and tastings.
12th of July from 14:00 – 17:00 REST / Wieldyk 8, 8573 WR, Mirns, Netherlands
WEAVING GRASSES AND MEADOW TASTING
On Friday, July 12, Suzanne and Philipp will park their Traveling Atelier at REST – a place where artist Saskia Noor van Imhoff and designer Arnout Meijer explore how materials can tell us something about the past, present, and possible future.
This afternoon, the grassland landscape takes center stage. For centuries, hoofed animals have played an important role in shaping and maintaining open grasslands. Their presence influences which plants grow, how soil life develops, and which insects or birds feel at home. But what happens when these animals disappear — or return?
You are welcome to weave ropes from local grasses and to taste the landscape through special seeds and herbs they have collected during their research.
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13th of July from 14:00 – 17:00 bij Bouwurk / Arcadia. Oldehoofsterkerkhof, Leeuwarden | VARIOUS ACTIVITIES
On July 13, Suzanne and Philipp will park the Traveling Atelier at the Oldehoofsterkerkhof, next to the Bouwurk of Arcadia — an ecological building created by the Mienskip, where art and culture are made together throughout the summer. Since the rise of the dairy industry, the landscape has undergone major changes. Grasses now dominate the Frisian landscape, but this has come at the cost of much biodiversity. At the same time, fewer and fewer animals can be seen in the meadows, even as dairy production continues unabated.
What will our countryside look like in the future, if animals return in full force and a rich variety of grasses makes a comeback? The presentation on this day is free to attend and invites you to experience up close what the artists have been working on. You can also take part in creating special objects using clay from the former Middelzee. Suitable for all ages.
19th of July van 14:00 – 17:00 bij Kaaslust / Maatschappij van Weldadigheid. Hoofdweg 138, Veenhuizen | TOUR & ICE CREAM
On Friday, July 19, Suzanne and Philipp will make a special trip to Drenthe. For a week, they will immerse themselves in the world of artisanal cheesemaking at Kaaslust, drawing inspiration from centuries-old techniques to experiment with plant-based products.
On this day, the cheesemaker and the artists will open their doors to the public. You are warmly invited for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at their flavorful collaboration. What happens when you apply traditional cooking techniques to plant-based ingredients?
For this special occasion, the old fire truck has been transformed into a cheerful ice cream van, offering surprising flavors made from ingredients gathered around the cheesemaking facility.
26th of July from 14:00 – 17:00 at the Waddendijk at The Friezinn. Kwelder Westhoeke
DREAMING ON A BLANKET OF SOIL
On Friday, July 26, the artists will conclude their tour with a special presentation at the Kwelder of Westhoeke, at the foot of the dike by the Wadden Sea. After a week of intensive collaboration with the people of the local wool spinning mill Het Waddenwolletje, they will showcase what has emerged from this encounter between craft and landscape.
During this week, the artists have delved into techniques such as machine felting and spinning. Using this knowledge, they create woolen blankets inspired by the different soil types they encountered during their journey — from sandy dune grounds to clay-rich salt marshes. The blankets incorporate seeds they collected during the first week, making them not only a memory of the landscape but also something that literally carries new life, growth, and future within them.
The presentation on this day is free to attend and invites you to experience up close what the artists have been working on. You can touch different types of wool, smell the material, and engage in conversations about the process. As a refreshing finale, there will also be something special to taste, inspired by the journey, the materials, and the landscape.
Exhibition
The entire journey, the discoveries made along the way, and everything they created together with you will be presented in a joint exhibition. This takes place in collaboration with VHDG Lokaal participant Sophie Krier and her project Hyndertiid. The exhibition opens on October 31 in our new exhibition space at ‘t Naauw 6-8 in Leeuwarden.
About VHDG and the Traveling Atelier
VHDG (formerly known as de Gemeente) has been a platform for contemporary art in Fryslân for twenty-five years. Founded in 1999 as an artist collective in a church building, VHDG grew into a project organization with a permanent exhibition space and thought-provoking art in the city and countryside. At the beginning of 2025, we moved into our new location at ’t Naauw. Here, we present an ongoing program for a broad and diverse audience, featuring stimulating exhibitions, workshops, and activities.
Traveling is in our DNA — we bring art to unexpected places. There, we work in dialogue with artists and residents, exploring how art can play a role in the community.
About the artists
The artist duo Suzanne Bernhardt and Philipp Kolmann explore the flavors of the earth and invite us to connect with our surroundings through our senses.
Suzanne Bernhardt is an artist and researcher who works with edible stories by tracing the routes of food. She follows food products back to their origins and examines the transformations and connections that arise along the way. By engaging in conversations with people and places, and understanding how they function, she raises questions about our relationship with the entire production chain: from the land and the products to our everyday environment.
Philipp Kolmann is an Austrian designer who works with scent, taste, food, and microbes to connect people to their environment in a sensory way. He focuses on food-related topics such as fermentation and the microbiological changes that products undergo throughout history. By researching and working with microbes, he creates new insights into our immediate surroundings through food, scent, and taste.
Made possible by the VSBfonds.
