Paper short abstract:

This paper will examine how a new local, shared identity is constructed through cultural practice in the Dutch new town Almere, by focusing on a 2010 art project that aimed to be a platform for cultural place making and the construction of a new collectivity in the new quarter Almere Poort.

Paper long abstract:

In June of 2010, The Pavilions, a museum of contemporary art in the Dutch new town Almere, kicked off a project called Pioneers in Poort. This project aimed to be a platform of cultural place making and the construction of a new collectivity in the new quarter Almere Poort, that is yet to be realized.

The Pioneers in Poort project offered so called Happenings on a literal blue print of the Pavilions, realized in artificial grass and situated on the building suite of Almere Poort. The project means to construct the new quarter as a meaningful, perceived space by allowing future inhabitants of the new quarter to meet eachother and share their thoughts on past, present and future.

Interestingly enough, Pioneers in Poort focuses on creating new collectivity by referring to historical notions of pioneership, a dominant narrative in the history of the Dutch IJsselmeerpolders.

My paper will examine the dynamic process of place making and local identity construction by analyzing the Pioneers in Poort project, historically contextualizing it and analyzing interplay between official and vernacular contributions.