House of Borders

The Border Academy

The Border Academy proposes to change our view on current education. With house of border we want to contribute to other border areas around the world. What can a border perspective be and how can it contribute to the way we think and relate to our surroundings? We see the border perspective as an essential perspective. This academy provide various artistic and design research based projects with makers, creators and designers. How can we integrate the lessons of border landscapes? Next to national borders there are a lot of borders, boundaries and edges in this world. Here we refer to the book of Richard Sennet “The Public Realm”. Humans and other living beings have internal and external borders. Borders can be fluid and rigid. 

A place where an open conversation starts around borders. A starting point for authentic and fluid identities. A place to practice sensitivity for those on the other side of your (inner) borders. There is a special pole in the forest behind the house placed on the old border with the texts “Let friendship heal, what borders break”.

Over the last years we have developed various projects and events around borders.

Border Table Lunch 2024

A table designed to bring people together

On 5th May 2024, this workshop was hosted. In this workshop and lunch a border table was designed through a workshop by architect Steef Meijer (https://www.dondervink.nl) and Yaniv Schwartz.

In the design process the participants were invited to think and draw along with ideas on how people could gather together at a border table. What kind of shape should it have? How does it sparks conversation? Where should it be placed?

This lunch was made possible by VFonds https://www.vfonds.nl

Border Table Lunch 2023

A table designed to eat on the border

On 5th May 2023, a lunch was made with a special table which was designed which could move on the road and be removed again from the road. The table had a pin at the end so cars, tractors and trucks could go through it, if it was necessary. It functioned as a border on the border, but a pleasant unexpected border. The road where the lunch was hold is exactly on the border between The Netherlands and Germany.

Border Dinner + story sharing 2022

Let’s talk about freedom

On 5th May 2022 a group of people came together to eat a “vrijheidsmaaltijd”. Their visions on borders were documented in a short audio clip. Listen to it on Soundcloud

The Tiny Border Gallery 2020

A table designed to bring people together

The border Gallery. A place for stories of human interaction. At the borderscape. A micro gallery, to give space to multiple perspectives on freedom and borders.

Example of an output of the border academy: Photo of the tiny border gallery on a famous national hiking path, an exhibition space since 2020 that hosted over 23 exhibitions. https://thelandscape.wixsite.com/mysite