Presentation of the fifth ‘Art in the District’ project: Houses in Sint Laurens by Lara Almarcegui
The Stichting Beeldende Kunst Middelburg has planned a public presentation of the book Huizen in Sint Laurens (Houses in Sint Laurens) by the visual artist Lara Almarcegui, made for the residents of the Sint Laurens district. This is the fifth work of art produced under the auspices of the Art in the District project. The event will take place on Tuesday 29 November at 15.00 in the Van Cittershoff community centre, Van Cittersstraat 64, in Sint Laurens.
Local residents are more than welcome to attend the presentation of this work of art in their district. Ed de Graaf, a member of the municipal executive, will present the first copy to Mr [voornaam?] Huijbregtse, a resident of Sint Laurens. One complimentary copy has been reserved for each household in the district.
Houses in Sint Laurens
The artist Lara Almarcegui was commissioned by the Municipality of Middelburg to carry out the art project Houses in Sint Laurens, in collaboration with the Stichting Beeldende Kunst Middelburg. The outcome of the project is a book with portraits of the houses in the district. There is a page for each house, with a photograph and a description of its history.
The project investigates the history of the houses, starting with the transition from purely agricultural land-use to the earliest housing developments. It then turns to the building process and all the changes made to the houses since then. The book does not tell the personal stories of the residents. The theme of the project is the architecture, spatial design, and evolution of Sint Laurens.
Local residents get involved
This project was based in part on archival research, and locals provided information about their houses. Mr Huijbregtse was able to supply a great deal of information based on personal experience, since he was involved in building houses in Sint Laurens in the 1950s and 60s.
Lara Almarcegui
Lara Almarcegui (Zaragoza, 1972) is a visual artist and photographer who lives in Rotterdam. In her work, she explores and maps neglected or hidden areas. For instance, she has documented vacant sites in Amsterdam and ruins in the Netherlands. She has exhibited her work around the world and received many prizes, including the UNESCO Visual Arts and Digital Arts Award in 2007. She currently has exhibitions at the CAAC in Seville, the Stedelijk Museum in Den Bosch, the Fondazione Pastifizio in Rome, the Kunstlerhaus in Bremen, the Beirut Bazar in Beirut, and De Paviljoens in Almere.
Art in the District
The Stichting Beeldende Kunst Middelburg has been appointed by the Municipality of Middelburg to manage the Art in the District project, in which six artists are carrying out projects in collaboration with the residents of six Middelburg districts. The residents of each district have had an opportunity to express their wishes and then to choose among a number of proposals by artists.
In 2010 three works of art were unveiled for the districts of Zuid or ‘South’ (Street by Edwin Zwakman), Nieuw Middelburg (De Ontknopping by Atelier Van Lieshout), and Veerse Poort (You Mean So Much To Me by Hendrik-Jan Hunneman). In 2011, The Mothers of Klarenbeek by Birthe Leemeijer was unveiled in the district of Klarenbeek. The sixth and final work to be unveiled will be Quintet by Maze de Boer in the district of Mortiere.
Huizen in Sint Laurens
ISBN 978 94 6190 214 6
424 pages
Black-and-white photographs
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tags: lara almarcegui
