People/ Made by Many

The school is made by many.

It exists across places and is shaped by the people, communities, cultural organisations, and research and art initiatives that take part in it. Initiated by artists Kathrin Böhm and Wapke Feenstra, the school builds on Myvillages’ long-standing practice of connecting people, places, and spaces using a trans-local identifier: The Rural.

Rather than being a school with a single location or fixed structure, it is a distributed and evolving network of people, places, spaces and practices.

Boerenzij, Rotterdam-South, Netherlands, a harbor district historically shaped by rural labor migration. With local partners like TENT and De CultuurWerkplaats Tarwewijk, Boerenzij is a project dedicated to preserving rural knowledge, undercurrents, and history within the city. Since 2003, Boerenzij has also been home to the organizational base of Myvillages: Wapke Feenstra’s personal studio and the Myvillages archive. The space is both a workplace and a site of exchange, hosting gatherings, celebrations, meetings, and a writing club.

Coordinators & Contact - Wapke Feenstra (wapke@myvillages.org)

Dutch Polders, Netherlands, a managed landscape of reclaimed land, dikes, and fragile soils. Aarden in de Polder (Rerooting in the Polder) explores what it means to land, take root, and find physical and mental ground in the delta landscape. Led by Wapke Feenstra alongside partners including Meta Knol, Casco Art Institute and CropMix, the project connects local land-use practices with broader questions of belonging and ecological connection.

Coordinators & Contact - Wapke Feenstra (wapke@myvillages.org)

Rogovka in Latgale, is a small village in eastern Latvia with a deep history of Latgalian language preservation, resistance and rural self-reliance. Working alongside local partners and friends, the project engages with cultural heritage, art accessibility and ecological thinking through residencies, translocal exchange and experiments in accessible publishing. It creates spaces for unlearning & questioning the hierarchies between cultural peripheries and centres.

Coordinators & Contact - Indra Gleizde (indra.gleizde@gmail.com)

Katzenwedelwiese in Karlsruhe, Germany, a public orchard and meadow that became part of ZKM | Center for Art and Media in 2019. Together with local residents, civic groups, artists, and museum staff, the meadow is cultivated as a shared space for land-based practices, biodiversity stewardship, community activities, and inter-species learning.

Coordinators & Contact - Kathrin Böhm (kathrin@myvillages.org) & Mira Hirtz (performing.mirahirtz@gmail.com)

Brezoi, in the Southern Carpathians of Romania, where rich forest commons and traditions of nature stewardship meet limited economic opportunities and ongoing rural depopulation. TERRRA network is dedicated to experimenting with climate adaptation strategies while preserving local knowledge and practices. Together, we cultivate shared spaces for learning, gardening, building, and exchanging local and international knowledge.

Coordinators & Contact - Indra Gleizde (indra.gleizde@gmail.com) & Kathrin Böhm (kathrin@myvillages.org)

Alfter, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, where the Alanus University sits among productive agricultural land. Working with students, local farmers, and the university’s Economics Department, we explore the relationship between rural land, art, and economics through drawing, fieldworks, and the lumbung practice.

Coordinators & Contact - Kathrin Böhm (kathrin@myvillages.org)

Höfen, Upper Franconia, Germany, a small village of roughly 300 residents and the home village of Myvillages co-founder Kathrin Böhm. Working alongside the local "Women of Höfen" group, the Peasant Museum in Frensdorf, and the community house since 2011, the project explores local production and rural economies through initiatives like the International Village Shop, kraut workshops, and the Eco Nomadic School.

Coordinators & Contact - Kathrin Böhm (kathrin@myvillages.org)

Zwalm, East Flanders, Belgium, a rural municipality of 13 villages along the Zwalm river, where farmland, watermills, and overgrown riverbanks meet. Working alongside Kunstenplatform PLAN B and BOEM vzw for the Kunst & Zwalm festival, the project explores soil, local biodiversity, and human and more-than-human connections through a mobile tattoo station, river walks, and story-sharing with residents and visitors.

Coordinators & Contact - Wapke Feenstra (wapke@myvillages.org)

Lumsden, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, a small village with a rich history of agriculture and granite quarrying, home to the Scottish Sculpture Workshop (SSW). Working alongside SSW, local makers, and residents, the project explores collective production, rural making, and local resources. Through shared workshops, community baking, and material experiments, it connects local skills and heritage with broader conversations about rural economies and land-based practices.

Coordinators & Contact - Kathrin Böhm (kathrin@myvillages.org)

Kassel, Germany, developed around documenta fifteen alongside local partners like ruruHaus, Frauentreff Brückenhof, and Kommune Niederkaufungen, the project uncovers the city’s "rural undercurrents" through land-based knowledge sharing, community economic projects, collective drawings, and public gatherings.

Coordinators & Contact - Wapke Feenstra (wapke@myvillages.org) & Kathrin Böhm (kathrin@myvillages.org)

Trans-local Haystacks (Multiple Locations), a project spanning various rural landscapes that explores the traditional art, labor, and culture of haystack making. Working alongside farmers, local communities, and artists across different countries, the initiative celebrates haystacks as living symbols of rural heritage, collective effort, and translocal exchange.

Coordinators & Contact - Kathrin Böhm (kathrin@myvillages.org) & Wapke Feenstra (wapke@myvillages.org)

Zburazh, Brest Region, Belarus, a borderland village surrounded by forests and wetlands, with a culture of foraging, local crafts, and self-reliance. Working through the Zburazh Art Coop, the project explores regional identity and ecological heritage through art camps, textile workshops, stop-motion animations, and community gatherings using accessible, recycled materials.

Coordinators & Contact - Alina Dzeravianka (dzeraviankaaa@gmail.com) & Sveta Husakova

Cow and Landscape, Netherlands, where the iconic Dutch image of cows in the meadow meets the changing realities of industrialised agriculture and ecological adaptation. Working with farmers, villages, artists, researchers, and museums, the project uses drawing, film, photography, conversations and fieldwork to investigate landscapes, soil health, and the evolving relationship between humans, cows, and the land.

Coordinators & Contact - Wapke Feenstra (wapke@myvillages.org) & Inez Dekker (inez.dekker@wur.nl)

Pollinaria, Abruzzo, Italy, a centuries-old wine farm that combines agricultural heritage with artistic residency, research, and curatorial practice. Working with local residents and Pollinaria, the project connects seed heritage, land use, intergenerational knowledge, and rural economies through drawing, research, and outdoor learning.

Coordinators & Contact — Wapke Feenstra (wapke@myvillages.org) & Kathrin Böhm (kathrin@myvillages.org)

Pushkino, Tver Region, Russia, a small village shaped by the decline of collective farming, a busy transit road, and a strong local music tradition. Working with villagers and children, the project uses murals, drawing, film, and storytelling to reimagine the village’s visual identity, turning local nature and everyday life into new cultural landmarks.

Coordinators & Contact — Anastasia Kamienska, Wapke Feenstra (wapke@myvillages.org), Georgy Nikich

Zvizzchi, Kaluga Region, Russia, a former Soviet collective-farm village where residents have developed new forms of rural self-reliance since the collapse of the Kolkhoz. Working with villagers, artists, and the Made in Zvizzchi committee, the project documented local skills, food production, crafts, and everyday economies through photography, storytelling, and collective art-making.

Coordinators & Contact — Wapke Feenstra (wapke@myvillages.org), Georgy Nikich, Olga Gartman, Anastasia Kamienska

Delft, South Holland, Netherlands, home to RADIUS, a centre for contemporary art and ecology, the project brought together artists, scientists, philosophers and hosted public talks, excursions, exhibition and gatherings examining Westland greenhouse horticulture, agribusiness, and sustainable farming futures.

Coordinators & Contact - Wapke Feenstra (wapke@myvillages.org), Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk & Sergi Pera Rusca