Open Ritual Stage Day Program
Your body never performs a ritual by accident. Far from just being symbolic, these habits are a biological defense to fight a stressful environment.
Amsterdam is, literally, designed for movement, not for a sense of belonging. We are rushing through the public space, in a world where we are more informed (yet more paralysed) than ever. We are drowning in an overflow of information we cannot process, and in that noise, we risk becoming numb to the very things that should move us.
We are creating new rituals to reclaim this ground. In a landscape reshaped by climate change, AI, war, and genocide, these rituals offer an alternative, a way to stop the rush, process the weight of the world, and finally begin to arrive.
HABITS provides an Open Stage for the rituals that cannot find a home in the rest of the city. We are hosting artists, neighbours, researchers, anthropologists, witches, scientists, monks, more-than-humans... essentially anyone—or anything—that wants to perform a ritual within our space.
On Friday, May 15th, we are hosting 9 makers across four different Open Ritual Stages throughout our Biotope.
Timeline:
14:00 - 16:00: On Becoming a Landscape - Rym Hayouni
HABITS Evening Program
At Mediamatic, our artists-in-residence are testing these boundaries and putting these questions into practice. They are exploring what it means to hold space in the modern city and how a ritual, no matter how small, is a powerful way to redefine where we belong.
Join the Al-Wah’at Collective for a collective natural dyeing performance and lecture, or collaborate with eco-architect Ikram Hamdi Mansour to reimagine our bond with the more-than-human through soil.
Don't forget to build within Luca Gerry Conte’s pillow castle in the Clean Lab, immerse yourself in the depths of the canal with Marjolijn Boterenbrood, or experience the HotBox through the nose of olfactory artist Frank Bloem.
Timeline:
About the makers
Wild Hedges with Al-Wah'at Collective الواحات
Join Al-Wah’at for a collective textile project using eco-printing techniques. We’ll use local plants to create an entangled visual field, challenging colonial narratives around wastelands and invasive species, engaging with Amsterdam’s complex vegetal landscape.
Performance Time: 20:30 - 21:30
Matter in Reciprocity by Ikram Hamdi Mansour
Through an intimate mix of storytelling and tactile immersion, Ikram zooms out from the raw element of soil to reveal how nature is inextricably woven into our cultural and communal architecture.
Experience the work of our year-long artist in residence
From 19:30 to 22:00, year-long residents Frank Bloem, Marjolijn Boterenbrood, and Luca Gerry Conte will occupy the Biotope. Experience their performances, installations, and rituals as they take hold of the space.
We’re ending the night by the water with a special guest DJ set from 21:30 until midnight. Come dance until the 12 hours are up.
The HotBox with Frank Bloem
Olfactory artist Frank Bloem invites you into The Hotbox to reclaim the ceremonial calm of tobacco, where you can roll a "shagje" infused with scents ranging from pure botanicals to the synthetic ambergris once used by Dutch whalers.
Future Skin of the City by Marjolijn Boterenbrood
Marjolijn Boterenbrood is a multidisciplinary artist whose works primarily revolve around the concepts of space and places through sensory impressions. Boterenbrood works through these subjects to reveal the hidden intrinsic aspects of the certain places that she visits. Meet her at the quay to plunge into the canal or navigate the water by raft, exploring the question: what will the future skin of our city look like?
What happened to the world?, What happened to that child? by Luca Gerry Conte
Could play be something for adults? How would your dream pillow castle look like? Transdisciplinary artist Luca Gerry Conte focuses on spatial ecological dynamics in social interactions. When exploring the work, we encounter the need to build our own play-space by in-habiting, tasting, and reconfiguring what is given. His work navigates the intersection where the authentic nature of food collides with cultural customs, offering viewers an opportunity to experience and reconnect with the context of the acted space.
De Sering Centraal
What space holds more ritual than a kitchen? Fuel the community at De Sering Centraal. They’re staying open for the full 12-hour stretch, serving affordable food all day from 12:00 - 21:00. Starting from €2.5 to €18, the meals will be donation based.
Sit down by the water, eat, and join the community!
Program Timeline:
Day Program:
14:00 - 16:00: On Becoming a Landscape - Rym Hayouni
De Sering Centraal:
Evening Program:
Information
Language: English
Tickets
For questions, please send an email to program@mediamatic.nl.
Credits
If you have any questions about the accessibility of this event, please get in touch with mail@mediamatic.nl
This event is made possible by:
