Aarden in de PolderNL
Aarden in de Polder can be translated into English as Rerooting in the Polder - a new multi-year cycle of works by Wapke Feenstra and collaborators explore the re-rooting in the Dutch polder, beginning with a pilot year in 2025.
To land again, to find ground—not only beneath our feet, but within. Where do we truly live? After leaving, drifting, or being pulled away—how do we return?
The central theme for Myvillages in the coming years is rerooting for everyone. Where do we actually live? Unstable peat and sticky clay, sand ridges and rivers. Sink or swim. It doesn't always feel safe here. How can we find a footing, both figuratively and mentally, amid the sometimes polarizing turmoil in this delta? Landing here and taking root in the polder is a desire because you were gone, had to leave, and now want to put down roots (again).
A polder is land reclaimed from a body of water and protected by dikes. The word originates from the Netherlands, where this type of landscape is very common. Polders are kept dry through a continuous system of pumps, canals, and dikes. This makes a polder a carefully managed collaboration between humans and nature, requiring constant maintenance to prevent flooding.
This project is supported by VriendenLoterij and Mondriaan Fonds.
| Region | Dutch Polders |
|---|---|
| Local partners |
|
| Population | Multi-species |
| Common fruit, vegetables, animals | Cows, water birds, meadow plants |
| Tradition | Pumping Water |
| Scent | wet soil |
| Distances from Aarden in de Polder | Distances |
| Coordinators | Wapke Feenstra |
Before Aarden in de Polder, there was Koe en Landschap
Re-rooting in the Polder grew out of Cow and Landscape project (2021-2024).
After these few years of visiting Dutch farms and farmers, listening to their stories, digging into Dutch rural soils, and observing cows and their changing bodies, we at Myvillages are deeply reflecting on the concept of re-rooting. While the Dutch art world has embraced broader conversations around land-use practices and the global discourse on (re)rooting, we felt that it has often seemed more hesitant to turn this attention toward the local soils and landscapes that surround it. More on this here.
| Region | Dutch Polders |
|---|---|
| Local partners |
|
| Population | Multi-species |
| Common fruit, vegetables, animals | Cows, water birds, meadow plants |
| Tradition | Pumping Water |
| Scent | wet soil |
| Distances from Aarden in de Polder | Distances |
| Coordinators | Wapke Feenstra |