Connected to the programme Waag Open: the soft atlas, on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 April you can experience the exhibition 'On the map' in the Waag, where a selection of artist Jan Rothuizen's work can be seen throughout the weekend. We will also develop a collective map of the city centre with all visitors. Share your own lived experience and put yourself 'on the map'.
On Saturday 6 April at 12:30 hrs we will organise a neighbourhood lunch at the Waag for neighbours from the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood.
The Soft Atlas
Rothuizen's drawings are best described as written maps or graphic reports. As an artist, he soon discovered that the limited space of a studio was something that was not for him. Walking the city streets and meeting people was his way of being an artist.
In 2009, Rothuizen started Soft Atlas; his idea is that the city is where the solid concrete reality of buildings and asphalt meets the malleable, subjective experience and expectation of the people who live and work there. A renewed version of The Soft Atlas was released in 2023, with updated maps of a city (and neighbourhood) that is always changing. This is clearly visible, for example, on the maps he made of the Red Light District.
The exhibition features works by Rothuizen from Soft Atlas, among others. Furthermore, the exhibition features a number of digital maps recently developed by Waag: interactive, participatory maps that map our living environment in various ways.
Two examples are the Field Atlas (about biodiversity in and around the Amsterdam Science Park) and Makers van Noord (and overview of the workshops and ateliers in Noord, which are gradually disappearing due to area development).
The exhibition can be seen at the Waag on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 April between 12:00 and 17:00.
