Waardig

Festival van het Andere Theater (FAT), 2022

Alongside theatre maker Sterre de Vries, Julia undertook a residency in the De Waard neighbourhood in Leiden, Netherlands as part of Festival van het Andere Theater (FAT). De Waard is currently undergoing many urban changes, with house prices rising and social housing being privatised or demolished. In this residency Julia and Sterre worked with residents to explore the effects of gentrification as well as the global economic processes and local policies that enable it, in order to build community-based knowledge on this issue for the long term in Leiden. 

The residency involved conversations with residents, sensory walks around the neighbourhood, a printing workshop and a final presentation featuring a booklet, a theatre piece and fabric hangings and tablecloths. The fabric hangings and tablecloths were developed from drawings, prints and reliefs made during the walks and workshops, as well as quotes from conversations with residents, the city council and architects. The booklet, entitled ‘We Zijn Er Nog Steeds’ / ‘We Are Still Here’, is made up of artworks created by residents during the walks and workshops. It also includes text about the changes in the neighbourhood, gentrification, a poem by Sterre de Vries and links to organisations that are fighting gentrification in the Netherlands. It can be viewed here.