Who decides who is welcome and who isn’t? How can you create the feeling of home? Inclusivity and diversity are hot topics in the media and politics, but what do these words mean on the street? In 2021 we started artistic action research about feeling welcome and feeling at home in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
This started from the realisation that Malou van Doormaal and Maybe Boozegeoisie, as white people who grew up in Brabant, feel at home in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. On the other hand they noticed there is little room for their queer identity. Feeling at home or feeling welcome are not straight-forward emotions. This is also what we experienced during our exploration of this topic. How does the title ‘Most Hospitable City’ (which has been awarded to ‘s-Hertogenbosch several times) relate to the experience of the people who live here?
In 2021 we met with several people and groups. Maybe made a temporary statue for ‘our guests’ near the blue trolley of the volunteers – called ‘De Blauwe Engelen’ – who welcome visitors in the city centre. This immediatly raised questions: are international students also visitors? Can you truly feel at home when you can’t get a proper house or job?
We also visited s-Port Support in the Maaspoort, a network of entrepreneurs who help sports associations with their knowledge and skills. Feeling at home, accepting the other, it seemed self-evident. Nobody really paid attention to Maybe’s look, they just played beach volleyball. At Minoux’s theater group, Maybe spoke to women with a completely different experience. The people in your inner circle may be immediately friendly, but what if the IND doesn’t give you a residence permit? What if you are addressed by your skin color instead of your name?
Maybe discovered that the issue is often approached either naively (the ‘diversity meter’ gives us green light, so we are done) or with fear (help, we don’t feel ready!) Nuance is missing and the fear of judgement is present. The job interview from Maybe at the library helped us realize that. The issue requires an approach that goes beyond the polarizing conversation in the media or safe, often opinion-affirming private environments.
Together with several artists, designers and makers Maybe and Malou are developing a strategy to make this topic more visible. How can ‘s-Hertogenbosch become a safe place to practice feeling at home and welcome? Read here about the process.
Read more about the research here (Dutch) and follow Academie voor Beeldvorming on social media to stay up to date!