Last October, artists, philosophers, anthropologists and programmers came together in Slovakia for Transitioning Landscapes, the concluding conference of the European project LAND.
For four years, partners from across Europe, including Oerol, worked on a shared question: how is our relationship to the landscape changing, and what does that mean for the way we work, look and listen?
An open space for debate
Led by the Slovak partner organisation Sytev, a temporary free state for research and exchange emerged. A space where conversations weren’t limited by schedules but could branch out and deepen. Over two days, the programme was filled with presentations, encounters and work in public space: artists sharing their work, programmers challenging each other’s assumptions, and thinkers giving language to questions that had been present for some time.
From the Netherlands, Oerol programmer Marin de Boer, Rita Hoofwijk (Raaklijn), Jente Hoogeveen (landhorizons.eu), Evanne Nowak and former Oerol artistic director Kees Lesuis travelled to Slovakia.
Listening to the non-human
Many discussions and presentations kept returning to the same theme: our relationship to the non-human. What does it mean to see the landscape not as a backdrop, but as something that responds, influences and gives direction? And how can festivals like Oerol, which is rooted in a unique natural environment, translate that idea into the way they work?
The Ecological Compass
During the conference, Oerol programmer Marin de Boer presented our Ecological Compass: a model that helps deepen — rather than simplify — our relationship with nature. Not a step-by-step plan, but a document that invites conversation.
We often simplify nature so we can understand it. But in doing so, we lose the adventure of the unknown. Marin de Boer, programmer Visual Arts
That idea resonated throughout the conversations on climate justice, reciprocity and the role of art in a time of ecological and societal shifts. The activist, philosophical and artistic perspectives found each other easily.
The value of small stories
Alongside the big themes, there was a strong focus on the small, local stories that often get buried in larger policy frameworks. Perspectives that show how a landscape is experienced, and how art can make that experience visible. Participants discussed ways to ensure these stories are not lost but strengthened.
Towards a new landscape
With the end of LAND, a formal phase concludes, but not the ideas behind it. The conference once again made clear how important it is to keep exploring how art relates to ecological issues, how festivals can evolve, and how cross-border collaboration leads to new insights.
