Fresh water control

One of the problems that the Ministry of Waterways and Public Works faces is the difficulty in convincing administrators and politicians that the Netherlands needs to become more ‘water conscious’. We cannot endlessly raise the dikes and keep building over all the outer dike areas. Riza, a service of the Ministry that deals with the fresh water control in the Netherlands, approached SKOR to help think about a way in which art could stimulate an awareness of water.

On 28 March 2002 SKOR, in collaboration with Riza, organized the workshop, 'Taboes communicatie en bewustwording over onze omgang met water en ruimte' ('Taboos, communication and awareness regarding our approach to water and space'). Lucas Verweij (Schie 2.0) and Jandirk Hoekstra (landscape architect H+N+S) led the workshop.

Proposals were developed that used art –e.g. depictions of nature, documentaries and landscape designs that accentuate water as a shaping factor in our environmental planning – in order to stimulate a process of awareness that would ensure that administrators and politicians would, in the future, take the issue seriously.

SKOR commissioned Abram de Swaan to write the text, in order to bring 'water' to the attention of the Dutch public and to, accordingly, increase an awareness of water.