Children and art are central to the Powerstation Art project. The project is a Dutch/Swiss activity in which children from the multicultural society of the Netherlands and Switzerland participate. Six children from both countries are participating and one of them is a boy from Ameland. Powerstation Art started in 2006 when the children were toddlers. They meet annually and follow each other into adulthood. The project ends with their coming of age in 2022.
Powerstation Art – Children and Art
Powerstation Art is a project of Dutchartdesk.ch. Renske Heddema of Heddema Communications and Hanneke Frűhauf of Art in Context are the founders of this Dutch foundation that organizes and promotes cultural exchanges between Switzerland and the Netherlands. The foundation was founded in 2002 and has advisors in both countries. Dutchartdesk assumes that art connects artists, citizens, organizations and governments.
Swiss tradition
Powerstation Art builds on an old Swiss custom. For centuries, a mountain people kept the custom of making a beautiful cheese at the birth of a child and allowing the ripening of the cheese to run parallel to the child’s growing up. The cheese symbolized a prosperous life for the child.
Cheese in Gstaad
On September 2, 2006, Dutchartdesk had a cheesemaker from Gstaad in Switzerland make a cheese dedicated to 12 Swiss and Dutch children. The children and their parents are present and the children’s names will be in the cheese. The cheese ripens until 2022 and then it will be eaten together during a ceremony. The cheese is therefore a symbol of the growing up of children into adults in different societies.
The cheese and the children / Source: Power Station Art
The flag ceremony in Ballum / Source: Power Station Art
Culture
The children were all born in 2004, in Switzerland or the Netherlands. The cultural background is diverse:
- Dutch
- German
- Swiss German
- Italian
- Iranian
- Sranangtongo
- Tibetan
- Turkish
- Serbian
- English
Multilingual
Many of these children grow up bilingual or multilingual. Their parents participate because they find it interesting to be part of a small international, multicultural community. One of the children is Fons Metz from Nes on Ameland.
Children
The children come together annually for meetings and the parents keep in touch with the organization via letters and e-mail. During the project, the children are guided in art projects, manifestations or symposiums. The communities where the children live also participate. The children meet alternately in the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Ameland
In 2011, the municipality of Ameland was the scene of the festivities surrounding the first anniversary of the project. Beforehand, schoolmates of the participating children had made drawings that ended up in a trunk. Fons and his class from the Kardinaal de Jongschool also signed. In September 2011, Powerstation Art held a flag ceremony on the village green in Ballum in the presence of Mayor Albert de Hoop of Ameland. All the children had made their own flag. Other activities during the lustrum celebration on Ameland:
- Workshops at all schools on the island
- Demonstration of the launch of the horse rescue boat
- Open-air concert in the forest by the Frysk Youth Orchestra
Art and migration
Dialogue between different cultures has become harder over time, the organization believes. Many migrants have come to live in both countries. This is not always easy for children of migrants. Growing up in a multilingual environment can also provide impulses and lead to a nuanced view of the environment. That makes people more tolerant. Art and migration are the source of inspiration for Powerstation Art, together with the integration of children into society. Art can act as a catalyst for a broader view of life: Powerstation Art. The children have artists as godparents.
Godparents
At Powerstation Art, art has the role of patron. Every two years, two artists are invited to act as godparents of the project. They play a role in the project’s manifestations.
Projects
Large and small projects are organized together with the artists/godparents:
- Speakers corners for young people in Amsterdam and Zurich
- Dialogue of partner schools
- Actors visit schools
- Writing competition
Price
In June 2011, Powerstation Art won the Kultursprung in Bern. It received the award from UNESCO Switzerland for the best sustainable cultural project.
Independent
After their tenth anniversary, the children, who have become young people, become more independent. In 2015 there was another joint meeting in Gstaad.
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- Municipality of Ameland and the municipal council
- Former mayor of Ameland: Albert de Hoop
- Ballum – Village on Wadden Island Ameland
- Art Month Ameland – art route across the island in November