The unexpected encounter
Divided into books, articles and essays, video and movies.
Artists and makers are engaged in the encounter within and outside the museum walls in their own ways.
Encounters
Joe Keohane
The power of strangers
HarperCollins, 2022
Kio Stark
When strangers meetSimon & Schuster, 2016
Ruth Soenen
Het kleine ontmoeten (Dutch)
Garant Uitgevers, 2013
Peter Venmans
Gastvrijheid (Dutch)
Atlas Contact, 2022
Elke Wiss
Socrates op sneakers
Filosofische gids voor het stellen van goede vragen (Dutch)
Ambo Anthos, 2020
Theodore Zeldin
Conversation: How Talk Can Change Our Lives
HiddenSpring, 2000
Joke van der Zwaard
Scènes in de Copy Corner van vluchtige ontmoetingen naar publieke vertrouwdheid (Dutch)
SUN Trancity, 2010
Identity / Prejudices
Abdelkader Benali
De vreemdeling
Racisme uitgelegd aan onszelf (Dutch)
Prometheus, 2020
Sinan Çankaya
Mijn ontelbare identiteiten (Dutch)
De Bezige Bij, 2020
Dilara Bilgiç
De Gelabelde (Dutch)
Uitgeverij Pluim, 2022
Mark Elchardus & Jessy Siongers Vreemden
Naar een cultuursociologische benadering van etnocentrisme (Dutch)
Lannoo Campus, 2009
Michele Lamont
Seeing Others How to Redefine Worth in a Divided World
Allen Lane, 2023
Jessica Nordell
End of Bias: A Beginning
Metropolitan Books, 2022
Claudia Rankine
Citizen An American Lyric
Penguin Books Ltd, 2015
Kae Tempest
On connection
Faber & Faber, 2022
Education and other
A. Van der Harts, Bert van den Berg,
C. Fortuin-Van der Spek
Verhalen verbinden -
ruimte voor vertellen op school (Dutch)
CPS Uitgeverij, 2007
Aminata Cairo
Holding Space
A Storytelling Approach to Trampling Diversity and Inclusion
2021
Lieven de Cauter
De capsulaire beschaving
over de stad in het tijdperk van de angst (Dutch)
Nai010 Uitgevers, 2009
Nina Simon
The participatory museum
MuseumZo, 2010
Will Storr
The science of storytelling
William Collins, 2019
Max Velthuijs
Frog & The Stranger
Andersen Press Ltd, 2015
18-04-2024 - De Standaard
Arjen van Veelen - Onbekend is soms ook terecht onbemind, niks mis met milde misantropie (Dutch)
25-12-2024 - Volkskrant
Pas op voor de Pickwickvraag, praat wél over het weer en klaag maar lekker: 12 suggesties voor succesvolle smalltalk (Dutch)
11-12-2023 - Volkskrant
Zo voer je een gesprek dat dieper gaat dan wat oppervlakkig gebabbel (Dutch)
7-08-23 - NRC
Eet met onbekenden, dan beleef je wat (Dutch)
12-05-23 - Volkskrant
Positieve, betekenisvolle relaties zijn cruciaal voor een goed leven (Dutch)
6-05-23 - Volkskrant
Ons vermogen gesprekken te onthouden blijkt ontluisterend slecht (Dutch)
Identity / Prejudices
11-03-23 - Volkskrant
Weg met alle labels? Liever niet, schrijft Valentijn Hoogenkamp: ‘Anderen vinden zoals jij, daar helpen labels enorm bij’ (Dutch)
17 - 01 - 19 - Volkskrant
Baarden in de Schilderswijk: hipsters of moslims? (Dutch)
Education
20-02-2022 - LKCA
Gabriela Acosta Camacho en Ellen Oosterwijk
Oproep: bied in alle lessen ruimte aan het persoonlijk narratief van de leerlingen (Dutch)
9-11-2016 Hanneke van den Berg
Het belang van je naam: 'Juf, weet je nog hoe ik heet?' (Dutch)
Video / Film
Encounters
How to with John Wilson
S1 E1 - How to Make Small Talk, 2020
John Wilson reflects on the art of small talk.
Night On Earth
Jim Jarmusch, 1991
Five encounters in taxis in different cities around the world: Moments when two strangers spend time together.
The Balcony Movie
Pawel Lozinski, 2021
The sidewalk in front of his apartment is the stage on which director Pawel Lozinski points his camera. Passers-by stop for a chat, tell their life stories and collectively sketch a picture of contemporary Poland.
The Gleaners and I
Agnès Varda, 2020
In her documentaries, filmmaker Agnès Varda approaches people in a loving and open manner. She does not judge the people she meets in her documentaries. Her film ‘The Gleaners and I' is about picking up what others do not find valuable.
Identity / Prejudices
The danger of a single story - Chimamanda Adichie, 2009
‘Single stories’ about other people or countries cause prejudices and misconceptions.
Ongemak in het stellen van vragen,
Zoë Papaikonomou, 2020 (Dutch)
When people come together, it can lead to awkward situations. In this fragment, journalist Zoë Papaikonomou calls for people not to be so spasmodic about discomfort. Well-intentioned questions, such as the ones Zoë is asked about her last name, can be awkward depending on the context. Naming this discomfort and making it a topic of discussion could ease our encounters.
Anna Lembke - The Power of Radical Honesty, 2023In this video, Anna Lembke discusses how honesty and lies influence the narrative we have about ourselves, and thus the way we connect with others.
Education and other
De Sekszusjes
De eerste keer, 2022 (Dutch)
In the fragment of 27:20 of 35:08, Krista and Marcelle tell the class about their first time having sex. Using their own personal stories, they talk to students. There is resistance among teachers to sharing intimate stories with students - it could undermine the role of the teacher. The fragment shows the value of stories in education.
Zomergasten
Marleen Stikker over David Bohm, 2018 (Dutch)
David Bohm was an American physicist who developed a theory about dialogue. He also put this theory into practice by developing a specific form of conversation: the Bohmian Dialogue. The basic principle is that a constructive (group) conversation has the goal of reaching a shared understanding, and not to fall into a battle to hear your own thoughts confirmed. Stikker shows this fragment because Bohm makes you think differently about thinking.
Zapp
De Mensenbieb, 2023 (Dutch)
The Mensenbieb is a magical library, where you can't borrow books, but real people and their life stories. Librarian Quinty Misiedjan helps children who have a specific question, are struggling with something, or are just very curious about something or someone.
Maaike Gottschal
The Great Picnic in the South
2023
During ‘The Great Picnic in the South’, people picnicked on a giant blanket made by textile artist Maaike Gottschal from over 1,700 tea towels from Rotterdam kitchens. In an accessible way, the picnic blanket brings residents of Rotterdam together to let them ‘taste’ each other’s cultures and cuisines.
Source: De Grote Picknick op Zuid
Faith Ringgold
American People Series # 8: The In Crowd, 1964
‘American People Series #8: The In Crowd’ shows the hands of white figures pushing black figures down. A white man holds his hand over a black man’s mouth. The work depicts attempts to create inclusion: a seat at the table, but not the equal space for everyone to have their voices heard. Source: Faith Ringgold
Manon van Hoeckel
Wassalon Boijmans, 2017
Your dirty laundry is your free entrance ticket to the Boijmans van Beuningen museum. From 14 October 2017 to 14 January 2018, there was a large launderette in the middle of the room where visitors could do their laundry. The launderette offers space for the unexpected conversation. While the machine is running, you and someone else follow the Washing Program: a set of stimulating questions to discuss in the rest of the exhibition.
Source: Manon van Hoeckel
Adelheid Roosen
Geyersvlijt, 1 deur verder, 2023
In Geyersvlijt, 1 Deur Verder the boundaries between play, theatre and reality are blurred. Five residents adopt five actors: they live together day and night and a scene is created from the reflection of each other's lives. A three-hour theatrical journey by foot and by 'doni' bus takes you past the houses and through the streets of Geyersvlijt. Taste the life stories, flavours and ethnicities that can be discovered just one door further. Source: Female Economy
Radio Bart
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen
At the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, a group of blind or partially sighted hosts will engage in conversation with visitors about the artworks. The host is primarily curious: they ask for a description of the work, what visitors see and notice, and whether the artist wants to tell them something. They ask questions such as: “Does this work evoke memories for you?” or “If you could step into the work yourself, where would you like to stand, or who would you like to be?” By engaging in conversation with someone who cannot see the work, the visitor will see it differently.
Source: KMSKA
Rirkrit Tiravanija
Untitled 1990 (pad thai)
Rirkrit stages intimate social encounters. Looking at art is generally passive, but he gets the viewers to actively engage. He sees art as something an artist creates together with their audience. “It is not what you see that is important, but what takes place between people.”
Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti
The Living Room
The Living Room in the Van Abbemuseum is a meeting place where the hosts welcome museum visitors as equals. This project was developed in 2018 by Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti. Building on her experiences in Palestinian refugee camps and with Syrian refugees in Sweden, artist Sandi Hilal advocates for the displaced to assume the role of host rather than guest. Source: Van Abbe Museum
Pierre Sernet
Guerilla Tea, 2002
In the “Guerrilla Tea” series, Pierre Sernet presents photographs in which randomly selected guests, from different cultural worlds and backgrounds, are invited to share a bowl of tea. Source: Pierre Sernet
Florian Braakman
Broer, 2017 - nu
‘Brother’ is an ongoing photo series capturing portraits of local men who have addressed Florian as ‘broer’. The project began in Rotterdam Delfshaven, where Florian lives, but has expanded to other neighborhoods and cities. An informal and friendly term of endearment, ‘broer’ evokes a brotherhood between strangers that transcends backgrounds and family ties. Source: Florian Braakman
Marcha van den Hurk – Flying Condor Crossing Borders (Dialogue drawing), 2018
In a ‘Dialogue drawing’, Rotterdammers who would otherwise not know each other process their chance encounters into spontaneous works of art. A dialogue drawing starts with a canvas on a table. During a conversation about a selected theme, the participants respond with their associations and experiences in words and images. The result shows the questions, wisdom, pain and hope of the people on the edge of Rotterdam. Usually invisibly, they make their voices heard via the canvas. Sources: Collectie Boijmans & website Marcha van den Hurk
Internet Arm Wrestling Challenge
2004
In the Internet Arm Wrestling Challenge, visitors to science museums are matched up via the Internet. Each participant sits on a stool, grabs a mechanical arm and pushes. Their efforts are measured and sent to an identical exhibit in another museum, where a motor exerts an equal force on a mechanical arm that the opponent is pushing against. Source: The New York Times
Efrat Zehavi
Passportraits, 2007 - nu
At various locations in the city, Efrat Zehavi invites passers-by to sit with her and have their portraits made in soft, colorful modeling clay. During these sessions, she gets to know her models by talking to them about various topics. They make the portrayed person an active part of the performance and the intimate conversation a public event. Source: Efrat Zehavi
Miranda July
Interfaith Charity Shop, 2020
Artist Miranda July has started an interfaith charity shop with the aim of connecting the charitable activities of different houses of worship. Source: Miranda July
Hilde Speet
Attentive hands, 2021
In 2021, Hilde Speet was in various places in Rotterdam and painted nails of passers-by. Fresh out of lockdown, Hilde touched strange hands and provided them with a little shine while listening to the stories of these random passers-by. Source: Hilde Speet
David Bade
WE OK. 2023
Around the table, a motley crew talks and discusses the two works of art. The images are discussed in whispers or heatedly with a raised finger. In this way, the work refers to the loaded conversations and tendencies that play around the word ‘Woke’. Bade wants to tilt the negative atmosphere around the discussion towards the hopeful and positive mantra ‘WE OK’. The mixing of backgrounds and histories can actually have a positive effect, just look at the pots of food simmering on the table.
Source: Stedelijk Museum Schiedam
Erwin Wurm
Organisation of love (One Minute Sculptures), 2007
Erwin Wurm instructs anonymous participants to perform temporary performances with everyday objects for sixty seconds: participants balance bottles between their bodies, put a bucket on their head or put their head through a chair. In the museum, these mini-performances create unusual interactions between visitors. Source: Erwin Wurm
Hans Hemmert
Level, 1997
In 1997, artist Hans Hemmert organized a party where everyone was exactly two meters tall, made possible by shoe extenders made of blue foam. The common height emphasized both the commonality (everyone the same height) and the difference (how much shoe extension is needed to get to two meters). Source: Something Curated
Willem Sluyterman van Loo en anderen.
Hipster / Muslim, 2019
The photo project Hipster/Muslim questions identity through the exchange of clothing and prejudices between hipsters and Muslims. Source: Volkskrant
Emke Idema
Rule, 2013
When do you let a stranger into your home? What do you do when the friends you have staying with start bending your rules to their advantage? And how do you act as a border guard at the immigration service? RULE is a playground of ideas, a mini-society, a playful and theatrical experience in which the ideas of the majority count. Source: Emke Idema
Sachi Myachi
The hut - a quiet wedge, 2013
Sachi Miyachi builds spaces that invite us to look at the world around us from different perspectives. This installation offers space to experience the place in a quiet way in a soundproof construction at a busy intersection in Amsterdam. Source: Soledad Senll Art Foundation
Marina Abramovic
The Artist Is Present
2010
For three months, performance artist Marina Abramović sat at a wooden table while, one by one, visitors would sit down in the chair opposite her and look into her eyes. Marina connected wordlessly with hundreds of strangers.
Source: Another Mag
Would you like to make an addition or contribution? Please contact:
Joran Koster: mail / insta
Ellen Oosterwijk: mail
August 2024
Copyright
© 2022-24
Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0
Text:
Joran Koster
Ellen Oosterwijk
Translation:
Colleen Higgins
Illustrations:
Hilde Speet
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