Tracking Traces

The future of the Museumpark is in a state of flux. To grasp the subject, Het Nieuwe Instituut gave two teams of designers, artists, urban designers and storytellers a commission entitled Tracking Traces, asking them to come up with a new vision for this Rotterdam park. How could 'traces' of the park and those of surrounding cultural and medical institutes engage with one another in better ways?

During Museum Night on 8 March, the artists from Observatorium, designers from De Urbanisten and artists Yasser Ballemans, Maurice Meewisse and Daan Draait took visitors by surprise with two temporary gardens, and a campfire full of stories about the future, placed just beyond the official borders of the Museum. The gardens gave visitors a foretaste of what a 'Museumpark Enlarged' might look like in the near future. The positive response from visitors inspired the designers to explore how this project might be continued.

The presentation in The Project Space shows the design process and the results of the project, and it also forms the launch pad for their further development. All the designers involved will contribute special elements. Observatorium, for instance, wants to talk with surrounding residents to collect future stories that will enliven and deepen the design assignment. Artist Daan Draait is making preparations for a first live audio lecture in which visitors walk around Museumpark wearing headphones and hearing — in stereo! — about the nature that is actually present. And De Urbanisten will soon organise a workshop where they will work with interested individuals on the design for the future. More information (including dates) about these workshops will be announced soon on this website.