Nadja

For this project we chose the skatepark as our space to map. This is a space that is unfamiliar to the four of us. We are kind of intimidated by this space. not because of the space itself, but because of the people in it.
The people in the skateparks are 99% men. They also were certain type of clothes. Our group and I feel like we don't fit in and don't belong in a skatepark.
Therefore we thought it would be an interesting challenge to try and map this space.
We did this by mapping the clothes.

The first time I went to the skatepark it was raining. Therefore the whole park was empty. I felt stressed because I didn't know if I had time to go again that week. at the same time I actually felt kind of relieved. I'm a shy person and as I had mentioned before, I am intimidated by this space. I wasn't looking forward to walking up to all these strange boys asking them for pictures of their outfit.

The second time I went the skatepark was full of people. Luckily, this time one of my group mates was at the park as well. together I felt a lot more confident talking to strangers. The day before that I had jokingly said I might take a shot before going to the park because of how nervous I was.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Many of the guys responded kind of like 'yeah whatever'. It could be because a lot of them were high. There were only like two people who said no, and only one guy started to ask a lot of questions. The rest didn't seem to care much about what we were going to do with the pictures.

Here are some of the pictures I took

I decided I wanted to link this assignment to the project I am doing for my major, as it helps to do a lot of research by mapping.
for the major project I am making a documentary about art in Dronten, which is my hometown.

mapping of where all the artwork is placed in Dronten

this is everyone who has made art in Dronten. SO much diversity!!!!!

two types of material that kept coming back in the art in Dronten: stone and bronze.

the ultimate artist of Dronten

when I think of art, I think of representation. the art in Dronten is made from 1 perspective, that of a middle aged white man.
this is why a lot of the art is the about the same subject (the drainage of Flevoland, first farmers and water).
to me, it could've all been made by the same man.

the art in Dronten that has humanlike figures portray 6 women. what stood out to me that there are sculptures barely look human but they do have breasts? the sculpture on the right is clearly recognizable, but still the only clear difference between the boy and girl seems to be boobs.

Translation: Do you have to be a white man to make art in Dronten?
11% of art in public spaces is made by women. 0% is made by non-white people.

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT!

is the reason I dislike the art in Dronten because it is made only by white men?

is there a difference between art made by women and art made by men?

These numbers I got from a survey I made with 50 people participating.

This is an interview I held with a member (Willem Baarsen) and the head of the art council (Aad Gordijn). I wanted to know what they thought of the lack of female representation in Dronten.
It became clear to me that they did not view this as a problem. The artworks in the Dronten are old, and a couple of years ago it wasn't normal for a women to have a career.
When I asked them if they thought it was important to let more women, young people or people of color make art in Dronten, they said it did not matter who the artist is, but it was about the art they made.
When I asked if art made by men was more appealing to men, and art by women more appealing to women. They said no.

Let me be clear: I don't think these men are racist or sexist. They are simply used to their place in society as straight white men and don't see the problem that lack of representation is. Because they have been represented in every single aspect in life.

When I ask these kind of questions to my dad or my boyfriend (both straight, white men) they answer similarly. They don't experience it, and they can't imagine someone deliberately not giving women or people of color the same chances as them. Therefore, they just don't see the problem.

out of all movies, theatre shows and comedy shows displayed in Dronten in the coming months:
5 are directed by women, 10 by men and 1 by someone not white
The art comittee has 23 women and 14 men
But the people in charge of the art comittee are 6 men and 1 woman.

Sources:
https://www.kunstcollectiefdronten.nl/kunstenaars
https://www.meerpaal.nl/film/
https://www.kunstraaddronten.nl/kunstraad/