Roots Rotterdam 2017/2018

ROOTS Rotterdam

Dialogue Drawings at Museum Boijmans van Beuningen

Visitors to the Pauluskerk and Marcha van den Hurk

As part of Around the Tree (22 December - 7 January), in the Art Studio the museum is showing a selection of Dialogue Drawings made by visitors to the Pauluskerk under the supervision of visual artist Marcha van den Hurk.

The Dialogue Drawing is a concept developed by Marcha van den Hurk in which people in Rotterdam who would not otherwise meet each other record their coincidental encounters in spontaneous art making.

The exhibited drawings were made between 2014 and 2017 in the Open Studio at the Pauluskerk that Marcha van den Hurk began with artist Ilse van der Laan in 2011. The Dialogue Drawings were created from the desire to foster contact between people in a creative manner.

A Dialogue Drawing begins with a canvas on a table. In the course of a  conversation about a selected theme, the participants react with their associations

and experiences in word and image. The result shows the questions, wisdom, pain and hopes of the people on Rotterdam's margins. Mostly invisible on the street,

through the canvas they now take the opportunity to allow their voice to be heard in the city.

The Pauluskerk supports all people in Rotterdam who would not survive without economic, social or spiritual help. It offers shelter, care and assistance irrespective of background, lifestyle, position or status.

The exhibited canvases were realized with contributions from: Freerk, Nour Eddine, Janneman, Ehab, Henk, Henk, Mustafa, Minny, Jagat, Patrick, Maria, Raoul, Jan, Lidie. Andre, Monica, Steven, Khaled, Theo, Priem, Abraham, Orji, Darren, Lou, Farid, Ron, Ilse and many more.

With thanks to Ilse van der Laan, and Anouk Griffioen for providing rejected canvases.