Walkshop in the Hedwige Polder

How can walking help us notice histories that are no longer immediately visible in a landscape?

In this walkshop, Marieke Borren and Susan Hogervorst, assistant professors of philosophy and history, respectively, at the Open University of the Netherlands, explore walking as an embodied and collective way of producing knowledge and generating research questions. Through walking, sensory observation, conversation and artistic forms of documentation, we will explore how histories become present in a landscape, and how they may remain hidden from view.

The Hedwige Polder is a particularly intriguing place for this. It is a landscape shaped by military history, Dutch-Belgian border politics, agriculture, nature conservation, commerce, and the expansion of the port of Antwerp. Once agricultural land, the former polder is now being transformed into a tidal landscape. Yet much of this contested history is not immediately legible in what we see.

Rather than explaining the landscape in advance, we will use our own embodied encounters with the place as a starting point. Individual observation exercises will lead into paired exchange and collective reflection, gradually opening up research questions.

The workshop builds on a previous walkshop organised by Susan and Marieke in The Hague last spring, and connects with the forthcoming LOCUS special issue Walking-with the Past: Embodiment, Environment, and Narrative, which they are guest editing.

Practical information

• Meeting point: Parking area at the Grenspark Groot Saeftinghe visitor information point, at the bottom of the dike surrounding the Hedwige Polder, Zoeteberm 6a, 9130 Doel (Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht), Belgium
• Time: 09:00–10:30
• We will walk a short distance along the dike surrounding the Hedwige Polder. Please bring suitable clothing and footwear for rain and changing weather.
• Binoculars are welcome.
• Please bring paper and drawing or writing materials, a camera, charged phone, or whatever you may need to document your observations.
• If standing for longer periods is difficult, please bring a small folding chair or stool.
• Parking is limited, so please car-share where possible. The meeting point is also accessible from the Youth Centre in the Prosperpolder: approximately 5 minutes by bike or 20 minutes on foot.
• No particular artistic or research experience is required. Come prepared to walk, observe, experiment and exchange.