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Recently I was allowed to visit DordtYart, in Dordrecht. A beautiful industrial hall, once built as a shipyard, by now probably just as stranded in the search for a new destination as the ships she produced. But it wasn't the building that surprised me so much, it was mainly the way in which that place was brought to life. On this spot I was allowed to walk in between making and presenting and in between creating and meeting. In a way that brought me fascination and discomfort: fascination for the research of the artists I was a part of and discomfort by the realization that I was looking at them on my fingers. And I loved it.
Here I saw that a beautiful combination had come into being. Of the artists of course, who loaded the place with their work and their intentions. Of the initiators, who call themselves facilitators, but are much more than that: with their ideas and resources they have created a unique place. The municipality, which knows how to keep the urge to develop at a distance. And the visitors, who are stimulated by what they see, but also by their presence. And that building in which it happened, that beautiful place, that was above all a reason for all this.
And that's inspirational. If SKAR stands for something, it's not just renting out square metres. It's about giving artists, designers, space. That that space is not an end in itself, but a reason to search and experiment, to make and to leave. To fail, but above all to succeed.
We find that space in studios. But also in places like DordtYart. And, if we do it right, also in the city. The municipality has asked SKAR to draw up a policy plan for a new period. I think that's what it should be about. What do you think?
Olof van de Wal
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