TUINBAZEN

ONGOING PROJECT

The Tuinbazen project is a long-term project that emerged from research into the changing role of the gardener in the city.

As a result of the economic crisis of 2008 and the associated shrinking government, the budgets for the design and maintenance of public space have reduced significantly in recent years. Yet simultaneously, public interest in nature, ecology and sustainability increased significantly. The central question the Tuinbazen project poses is how gardeners could play a central role in activating the maintenance and management of urban parks.

As craftsmen, educators and inspirers, gardeners have the potential to improve the relationship between the park and the environment by sharing their knowledge with others. This wealth of information and stories has been inventoried and made accessible to the public by means of a series of film portraits of these gardeners. Their shared visions form the basis for the development of a different model of maintenance and social cohesion in public space.

The first part of Tuinbazen was shown in 2014-2015 at the Manifesta Foundation/Dutch Culture Foundation in Amsterdam. The project was realized in collaboration with KETTER&Co.