Summer and early autumn 2025
Aarden in de Polder at , Utrecht
With Aarden in de Polder (Rerooting in the Polder) Wapke’s long-standing engagement turns toward the Dutch landscape, offering particular attention to the distinctive form of the polders: flat, low-lying tracts of land (re)claimed from the sea, lakes, or rivers, made agriculturally productive and protected by dikes, and maintained through an intricate network of canals, pumping stations, and drainage systems.
Wapke has spent several decades investigating the ecologies of land - its physical, mental, and social dimensions - by tapping into local knowledges and engaging with people and the everyday. Through her work, she gives form to ways of living with the land that have eroded over time, that which persists, and the potential that lies therein.
Save the date:
27 September: Exhibition opening at Casco Art Institute, Utrecht
28 September: Seminar with Rural School of Economics peers
15&16 November: Farmers' Market
Three excursion to the polder are taking place between 4 and 19 October. Check the for updates.
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Tattoo Station Zwalm
at (BE) with Ida Bomm, Niel de Vries, Jaron Vandevelde, Wapke Feenstra
What is it like to live in and around the Zwalm? Which plants and fish found a home here and what is rare but fortunately still occurs? Myvillages gives a glimpse of the biodiversity of this piece of living greenery. To do this, they draw the fauna and flora of Zwalm and use this as a basis to design tattoos. The mobile Tattoo Station Zwalm is located along the art route of the Kunst en Zwalm.
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Company Drinks in London
The news from Company Drinks - which was initially set up by Kathrin from Myvillages in 2014 - is that there is no new news, as we keep following a seasonal rhythm of communally reproducing and strengthening a space that is shared and shaped by many.
There are two public events this autumn, and you're most welcome to come along. The Community Open Day on Saturday 13 September at Company Drinks' pavilion and garden in Barking Park, and - on the other side of town - the Company Drinks Bar at Frieze Art Fair, run by Shaun Tuck and astonishingly in its 12th year.
The is part of London Open House and drop-in. If you would like to meet Kathrin and Shaun at the bar at Frieze please drop us a message in advance
& We are developing a new drinks series with ZKM Karlsruhe in conjunction with the Arte Util Archive and exhibition at ZKM in 2026. "Gemeine Getränke" - referring to Ivan Illich's "Vom Recht auf Gemeinheit" - are preparing to embottle the interdependent economies at play at ZKM and the Katzenwedenwiesel orchard nearby.
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Saying hi to long term collaborator Anastasia
Anastasia Kamienska is an artist living in Tver and not only the motor behind the activities with . Anastasia is also a poet that likes to illustrate her books with birds and animals. For this newsletter she made a poet for us on cows, as we recently talked a lot about cows in the Rural School of Economics.
To read more about Pushkino and see what has been happening over the years .
Pushkino Style is also the cover image for the Rural Imaginations for a Globalized World publication,
with a chapter by Wapke Feenstra on
Editors: and and published by Brill, 2025
explores what aspects of contemporary rural life as deeply globalised – and thus implicated in the ongoing, destructive unfolding of colonialism and capitalism – are highlighted and obscured in social, political, economic, and cultural imaginations.
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Indra introducing Rogovka, Latvia
In the Latgalian village Rogovka , Indra Gleizde together with local contributors Marta Zvejsalniece and Anda Miščenko explore the relevance of contemporary art in rural contexts and its connection to the local landscape. They seek to test more equitable forms of cultural exchange between the village and broader regional and national spheres. In 2025 new trans-local activities are linking with other initiatives connected to the Rural School of Economics.
"We visit a local artist-blacksmith Jānis Ļubka in his studio to discuss the need for a better understanding of a "good practice codex" regarding how original local artworks should be treated and handled by both the municipality and the public."
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Long-term trans-local collaborators and initiators Doina Petrescu and Constantin Petcou
Constantin and Doina are the founders of (aaa), which carries out actions and research on participatory urbanism and architecture, such as the multi-local network . Constantin is a Paris-based architect whose work explores the intersection of architecture, urbanism, service design, and semiotics. Doina is a Professor of Architecture and Design Activism at the University of Sheffield. Her cross-disciplinary research addresses key questions in architecture and urban planning, with a focus on civic participation, gender, and the relationship between co-production and resilience.
We have been collaborating for many years, and more recently developed joint activities and questions in the context of in Brezoi (Romania), where co-stewardship of land and relations, inter-rural connections, and the local role of art within trans-local and multi-species frameworks are shared topics for the coming years. A Myvillages trip to Brezoi with collaborators from the NL network this August is going to rehearse and discuss practices, to further these themes through workshops and practical experiments. Indra Gleizde has documented on the Rural School of Economics website.
The “To Act” publication series by aaa/peprav documents and reflects evolving practices and urgencies over the years, starting with (2007), (2010), (2016), and Live Act (2024).
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TAKING PART IN:
Nesse Terneuzen, NL
An interdisciplinary performing arts festival on 27 & 28 september 2025
Myvillages is going to work together with this festival in the coming years, and for now does a first sound installation on local potatoes.
Rural Undercurrents
as part of the exhibition at Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, curated by Bundeskunsthalle Bonn and New European Bauhaus, until 28 January 2026
From 3 October - 14 December
Crafting the City, Pragovka Gallery, Prague
Curated by Una Mathiesen Gjerde and Krisztián Gábor Török
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Unfreeze Your Brain:
multi-species, inter-disciplinary and close to the ground
The two day Festival, organised by Kathrin Böhm and Bianca Orboi took place in early June at Alanus University in Alfter near Bonn. One strand of the programme was dedicated to rural topics and practices.
Aline and Teresa from led a participatory Emancipatory Rurality session, artist and shamanic practitioner introduced nature personhood and the knowledge of rocks. , Chair of the German Sustainable Business Association, ran a workshop on Corporate Political Responsibility within rural geographies, (Un)Sustainability speaker introduced decoloniality, Philipp Unterweger led various biodiversity tours across the campus, Shari Huwer from Hofpost addressed the actual and practical future of farms, and cradle to cradle farmer from the nearby Solawi shared bis knowledge on Frugal Technologies. Wapke offered a workshop on rural undercurrents, a meditation on how to reconnect with your inner cow and hay tattoos near the fresh haystack on the campus.
A short by Alessandro Dei Mattei captures the vibe of the weekend, and documents "unfreeze" moments by participants and guests (in German). The full programme and details are on the .
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