TERUG NAAR HET BEGIN
“Terug naar het begin” (Back to the Beginning) is a festival in Groningen, Netherlands, focusing on the intersection of wierden (ancient artificial dwelling mounds) and heritage, taking place on May 23–25, 2025.
As a team from Minerva Art Academy, we created an exhibition in an old abandoned café, aiming to bring back the memories this place holds for people who lived nearby, through the artistic perspective of our group of 25 students.
My part was to create an interactive space where people could feel like they were in another world of folklore and history. I wanted them to see themselves in the present moment, but in a way that made them reflect on their well-being—how it can vanish in seconds—and how important it is to take care of being remembered and to enjoy the present before it all fades into memory.
For more information you can watch this shortfilm made by Ella Sykes.It covers all aspects of exhibition made in Oosterwijtwerd and our personal thoughts about it.
Process
Try-out
As the team and I were exploring different possibilities and ideas to make the café memorable for visitors, I began experimenting with various TouchDesigner visuals to spark interest. At first, I used only recorded videos of different visual styles, but later, this developed into interactive TVs and projections to create a more engaging experience.
Test exhibition
A test exhibition was held in Minerva Academy’s old building, where we tested the finalized visuals and planned how they should be placed in the café for the best result.
Final presentation
Since we had only a week to prepare everything, we made some last-minute changes to ensure that visitors would enjoy the experience and feel encouraged to interact with it. Special thanks to Smaranda Teodorescu for her sculptures and her input in interactive projections.
More works of Smaranda