Starting from September 14th, The Outsiders will travel through Fryslân with their project TERPost in a fire truck, visiting various locations. Last July, the artists did a traveling residency with the fire truck in Northwest Fryslân. During their journey, they met farmers and talked with them about how they work the land and what they think about the connection between farming and the landscape. They walked on dikes, through fields, studied the landscape, visited museums to learn about history, drank tea at the Tuin van de Toekomst, and gave workshops at the primary school in Nij Altoenae. Based on these encounters and their research, they have created new work that will travel through Fryslân in September!
During the residency period, the artists researched the diversity of the landscape and farming practices in this area, focusing on how the farmers shape the land and how the land influences them. They visited a farmer who still does everything by hand, a large farm with hectares of potatoes, and the Tuin van de Toekomst—a garden for and of the future, based on permaculture knowledge.
“Unexpected trouble on the road lead to unique encounters. We drank lemon balm and mint tea from Pytsje’s food garden with the roadside assistance, and then took a walk through the special Tuin van de Toekomst. We learned about Japanese wineberries, blue clay soil, and sea beet. Everything in Friesland grows a week later than in the rest of the country.”
The Outsiders have delved into the history and daily life of Het Bildt, one of the oldest polders in the Netherlands, where the Middelzee was reclaimed around 1500. Since then, it has become a fertile farming area where the dikes are mixed with fields of potatoes, grain, carrots, onions, beets, and occasionally grassland with cows or sheep. This area was once sea, but over the past 500 years, humans have played a dominant role in shaping and managing this landscape through land reclamation and use.
“Every Frisian here seems almost fused with the landscape. Both the old farmer and Gauke are deeply connected to the land and its use, almost as if it’s second nature. They openly share their stories.”
After their residency period, each artist wrote a letter to a local farmer they met during their trip. These letters, with questions and reflections, are an invitation for an ongoing dialogue. They reflect on the different ways the farmers work their land and how their work is in harmony—or sometimes in conflict—with the landscape. Through the letters, The Outsiders aim to show the multiple voices of the landscape and the diversity within both the collective and the farming activities. The Outsiders use these letters as a form of sustainable correspondence. This form doesn’t quickly fade or get lost in the flow of digital communication but instead takes its time and provides space for thoughtful exchange.
For the presentation of TERPost, The Outsiders transform the fire truck into a post office. Here, you can pick up a package containing the letter exchanges between the artists and the farmers, and you’re invited to participate by writing a letter back. The artists are eager to share their findings with you and encourage you to think about the Frisian landscape; a dialogue that builds on knowledge and stories from the past to the present and the future.
Visit The Outsiders on the following dates and locations:
- September 14: Uit in Huis, Leeuwarden
- September 18: Oude Bildtzijl at Aerden Plaats
- September 28: On the square at the Fries Museum during Museumnacht FRL 2024
