This Creaking Floor and All the Ceilings Below

The building of Lange Nieuwstraat 7 was once a monastery, a school for children with learning disabilities, and now is occupied by FOTODOK, Casco Art Institute: Working for the Commons, two artists studios, and In De Ruimte. Spanning six centuries, the building has undergone transformations depending on its use and ownership, adapting to the times and needs of its tenants. Archival material, folklore, architectural evidence, and artistic imagination weaves a tapestry of stories about this location.

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For almost a year, Utrecht-based artist Bart Lunenburg, assigned by FOTODOK, researched archival materials from The Archives of Utrecht to learn more about the multi-layered history of this particular site. The research led to the production of new work This Creaking Floor and All the Ceilings Below, where photography, installation and moving image intertwine into a carefully constructed dramaturgy of the space. Lunenburg’s work relates to material features of an habitable building–furniture, floors, doors, windows, and ceilings. A visitor is guided through a space from the remaining medieval foundations of the building to the top floor that was removed during the latest reconstruction in the seventies.

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Not limited to the exhibition space upstairs, the entire building becomes activated. Researchers Lieke Hettinga and Deborah Sielert, architect Andreas Müller, artist Christian Nyampeta, and writer Siobhan Wall, among others, share their contributions related to the Abraham Dolehof. Works and materials inspired by the area and the building of Lange Nieuwstraat 7 are brought together and staged to consider what a place offers us, how we are preserving, maintaining, and nourishing our resources, and how to cultivate the “we” of this location.

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This Creaking Floor and All the Ceilings Below was conceived as both a follow up on the subject of collective memory that is currently in the spotlight of FOTODOK and as the first Chapter within Common Grounds: Story / Heritage, co-produced by Casco Art Institute: Working for the Commons and FOTODOK. The complete work of This Creaking Floor and All the Ceilings Below is on view through through June-July 2020, by appointment.

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Curators: Daria Tuminas, Casco Art Institute
Production: Martha Stroo, Casco Art Institute
Design: David Bennewith