Still from Anna Lange's Space Potatoes (2006)In the forthcoming issue of the yearbook
The Low Countries (due at the end of April) Lut Missinne quotes Dutch writer Tommy Wieringa on his development as an author: ‘I have removed all signposts, commandments and prohibitions from my system, but I needed the discipline of my previous book in order to emerge here. At last I dared to admit chance. But then again, to become a good dancer you first have to master all manner of styles and become proficient in a whole range of techniques.’
That’s an elegant piece of introspection, and undoubtedly Wieringa will have his way with words as well tonight (Februray 25, 7:30 p.m.) in the
Brigantine Room at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. In a literary
SHIFT event, Dutch authors Lieve Joris, Anja Sicking, Lucette ter Borg, and Tommy Wieringa, will share ideas, explore new writing, and spark discussion of larger issues in literature with
Globe and
Mail Books Editor Martin Levin. You can read more about these writers
here. For the record: all four of them have books that have been translated into English or are due to appear in translation.
The day after this evening dedicated to the written word, it’s time for images from the Netherlands in the
Studio Theatre, Harbourfront Centre. In a special double feature, which is in fact an exchange between two festivals on the occasion of the SHIFT Festival — the Impakt Festival in Utrecht and the Images Festival in Toronto — Arjon Dunnewind and Pablo de Ocampo have each assembled a program that tries to define something about their respective countries – the Netherlands and Canada – through video.
Dunnewind’s part is entitled Neighbours and in it he shows five short films in which the renowned openness and tolerance of the Netherlands is being investigated. In the programme it says: ‘Dutch society is changing, although opinions differ on the direction and impact of these changes. Immigration, integration and the position of new cultural and religious values play in important role in this discussion. How do the 'old' Dutch citizens deal with the new elements in their society and how to the 'new' Dutch citizens relate to the open-minded image of the Netherlands?’ One of the movies is Space Potatoes (De aardappeleters, 2006), in which Anna Lange shows a dying breed of Dutchmen, represented by two elderly peasants. The filmmaker portrays a lost way of life which had a deep impact on her own upbringing. It is a tribute as well as a goodbye which puts things into perspective.
The most recent contribution to Neighbours is Wendelien van Oldenborgh’s No False Echoes (2008). The title of this video installation refers to Dutch colonial policies regarding the first radio connections between the Netherlands and the Netherlands East Indies. These policies aimed at preventing any unwanted voices or ideas from entering the colonial. broadcasting spectrum, specifically nationalist ideology from the Indonesian republicans. Van Oldenborgh proposes that similar attitudes are still present in the current debates in the Netherlands. For that is what true open-mindedness and tolerance are all about: take nothing for granted. And if you want further and more playful proof of that, go take a look at Felieke van de Leest's work at the York Quay Galleries (Harbourfront Centre, until March 8): this Dutch artist combines toy animals, crochet work and precious metals to form humourous and colourful jewellery and objects.
Felieke van de Leest's Emperor Penguin Freddie
SHIFT is a festival of Canadian and Dutch arts with activities in Amsterdam that took place in November, 2008, and in Toronto in February, 2009 (full programme here). The festival wants to create opportunities for exploration, exchange and new artistic and cultural understanding between Canada and the Netherlands. 
Subscribe