Backstory
Arcadia started in 2018 by working together with Leeuwarden-Fryslan who was the European Capital of Culture for a year with a purpose of developing a province that could be proudly passed onto future generations. They are building on the motivation of the cultural capital to profile Fryslan as an important European region and to make it structurally better, more beautiful, and more sustainable through art and culture. This foundation represents an ambitious stimulator and driver of collaborations between people and organisations from all corners and sectors of the community and beyond by realising a high-quality living and business climate for the long term in the rural region.
Vision
Arcadia 2022 will have a broad cultural program, including the projects BOSK, PARADYS, IIS and a rich performing arts program. Arcadia is about how we can better pass on our environment, or, as the Frisians so beautifully sing it in the national anthem, as ‘ it bêste lân fan d’ierde ‘ (the best country on earth). How can we be good ancestors and leave a future-proof legacy? To find an answer to this, Arcadia asks artists to sketch new perspectives for a healthy society in a sustainable world together with the Frisian community.
This year for 100 days creative thinkers and smart doers will show how the world turns with installations, exhibitions, conversations and performances. They will expose old traditions and new visions of the future and will encourage us to become good ancestors.
One of the most noteworthy expositions is a walking forest in the streets of Leeuwarden. Another is an international visual art exhibition in the greenery of Oranjewoud. Or with a province-wide community program that is about ice rinks, doing things yourself and together, and climate change. This is possible with the help of volunteers, artists and a creative network in the Netherlands and Europe. This is going to happen again in 3 years as they work with Arcadia in three-year leaps to colourize the picture they developed in 2018.
“ARCADIA IS COMMITTED TO HERITAGE, LANDSCAPE AND SOCIETY. FOR THAT WHICH CONNECTS US. FOR A WORLD THAT WE CAN PASS ONTO THE NEXT GENERATION WITH CONFIDENCE. FOR THEIR FUTURE.”
Arcadia is proudly being supported by and cooperating with the Province of Fryslan and the Municipality of Leeuwarden.
