Oerol is a ten-day annual site-specific arts festival. It is an unique place where art, nature, and society converge on the beautiful Wadden island of Terschelling.
Oerol offers a platform for artists to present work, ideas, and experiments that cross artistic boundaries and challenge societal themes. If you feel that your work fits Oerol, we invite you to read the information below. This will help you understand what the artistic team is looking for, how we work, and what we expect from you as a creator.
What are we looking for?
Oerol provides space for art forms that transcend common art disciplines. We are seeking artists and creators who wish to engage with the unique environment and community of Terschelling. We would like your work to relate to the societal themes that we consider important as an organisation: sustainability, justice and polyphony.
The festival programme consists of site-specific theatre, street theatre, music, visual arts, storytelling, talks, and interdisciplinary performances. Much of this is created specifically for a certain location or interacts meaningfully with the surroundings and our audience.
Performances and Presentations
We programme performances and presentations in all shapes and sizes: from one-on-one experiences to large scale site-specific work. Many works are created specifically for Oerol, with nature and the landscape of Terschelling playing an active role in the creation process.
We programme very few works that are already touring in regular theatres and venues throughout the season: the power of performing at Oerol lies in the opportunity to further develop your work over ten days with a wide and engaged audience. Exceptions are made only if the work is otherwise relevant and connects with our societal themes, for example by representing diverse perspectives and voices.
Due to our capacities and position in the cultural field, the majority of our programming comes from the Netherlands. However, when possible, we also feature international artists. We are especially drawn to international creators who bring new perspectives to our themes and are willing to adapt their work to Terschelling’s specific context.
Visual Arts
At Oerol, visual art focuses on land art and interactive installations. We are looking for work with an ecological theme and impact, encouraging participation and reflection among visitors. During the festival, the visual arts programme can be visited continuously with a festival wristband.
Music
Our music programme values diversity of music styles, with less emphasis on location. We are also interested in musicians who wish to engage in dialogue with nature and our audience, creating site-specific work as a result.
Talent Development
We support emerging artists or creators who want to explore working on location from their existing practice in collaboration with partners in talent development. Within our Werkplaats we invite artists for residencies.
How We Work
We begin the process for site-specific performances and visual arts approximately 18 months to a year before the festival. Programming is finalised in December of the year prior. Projects are presented at a specific location throughout the entire festival. Programming for the villages, the festival heart, and other locations such as the Bostheater, West-End Theater, and the Strandtheater is finalised in March.
Sustainable Collaboration
We believe it is important to enter multi-year collaborations with artists, so that they can develop further and present their work to our audience multiple times. Through these long-term relationships, artists can deepen their artistic practice and discover new layers in their work through dialogue with our audience and the environment of Terschelling.
Different Perspectives
We believe it is important to give (for us) new and less represented perspectives a place and to support them. We do this in collaboration with companies and partners. We are not only looking for projects that have already been completed, but also for ideas in development that benefit from a development location or residency.
Accessibility
We are working towards making the festival as accessible as possible, in all sorts of areas. Do you have an idea that could improve the festival’s accessibility? Let us know!
Artistic Team
The artistic team of Oerol consists of artistic director Sabine Pater (site-specific performances/artistic vision), Marin de Boer (visual arts), Niels Nieuborg (music/festival heart), Thijs Weijland (music/street theatre), Sophia Blyden (storytelling/talks), and Simon Tubb (business/international/professionals). The programmers work with a focus on content. In addition to their specific field of expertise, they work interdisciplinary as much as possible. General director Mikey Martins contributes to the content and artistic direction of the festival.
'Oerol is such a vital lifeline, a kind of counterpart to those large planned projects, a place where everything can and may happen, and where different rules apply.' Wende
Getting in Touch
Wondering if your work is a fit for Oerol, but have not yet spoken to one of our programmers? We recommend sending us an email at programma@oerol.nl with a brief description of your work, along with photos, videos, or other relevant materials. This helps us get a clear picture of what you want to present. We are also happy to receive registrations or trailers of your previous work. If you already have a specific context or program component in mind where you would like to show your work, please let us know.
We are based on Terschelling and at various locations across the Netherlands. Not all of us work full-time, and we are not always able to attend performances, presentations, or concerts. Our programming process involves careful consideration and we have to make choices from a large number of proposals.
Because we have to make tough choices in our programming, we are looking for work that aligns with the artistic signature of Oerol, and enriches and deepens it. We receive many submissions and due to the limited space we have, we unfortunately cannot respond to everything. We hope that this information helps you to determine whether Oerol is the right platform for your work.
Would you still like to bring your work to the attention of our programmers? You are welcome to do so! Please email us at programma@oerol.nl. Make sure you include a short description of your project and a link to your website along with audio, visual and/or video material.
Practical information
Are you in the Oerol programme? Below you will find practical information regarding your journey to and stay on Terschelling.