Meet the Maker at Bureau Europa

On 29 November 2014, the first edition of ‘Meet the Maker’ – a collaboration with NOTO design studio in Maastricht – took place at Bureau Europa. Artists, thinkers, designers and performers from the Euregio presented one work for one day. The work’s presentation is underscored by the encounter between the public and professionals.
For this event, a select group of curators, collectors, and policy makers are invited from the cultural field. During the evening, the artists give short presentations, after which there is an informal dinner to further the discussion. The goal is to develop sustainable partnerships and networks.
An edition of Meet the Maker will take place every six months. Next one is during FASHIONCLASH Festival in June.

For this first participants where: 
- Anne Büscher (1991): jewelry designer, Maastricht
- Wouter Huis (1974): visual artist, founder Greylight Projects in Hoensbroek and Brussels
- Maïté Guerin (1983): dancer, co-founder Gotra Ballet, Heerlen
- Egidius Bink (1980): graphic designer and illustrator, Maastricht/ Amsterdam
- NNstudio (Nicolas Bebronne and Pierre Geurts): graphic designers, Liège
- Dusty Thomas: fashion designer, Maastricht
- Valentin & Jonas Löllmann: furniture designer & photographer, Maastricht

Bureau Europa and NOTO want to provide opportunities for the Euregio’s artistic talent, helping them to further their careers by creating cultural networks. Additionally, Meet the Maker is the ideal concept to grasp the cultural business climate, and discovering what we can learn from each other from the viewpoint of different disciplines. For the first edition, eight practitioners from the visual arts, architecture, dance, fashion, graphic design, and photography were asked to choose and explain one work from their oeuvre.



More Info & Images: here

Sphinxpark is open!

image: Peter Visser

Sphinxpark, a brand new temporary park in Maastricht, just around the corner of my studio, was officially opened on May 26th. I love it! Too bad it is just temporary. In collaboration with NAiM/Bureau Europa and REcentre, platform for sustainable design in the Meuse-Rhine Euregion, Marres Projects realized a temporary park in the inner city of Maastricht in 2011 and 2012.

This temporary free haven for innovation aspires to be exemplary for the manner in which the Euregion might deal with the interim in times of population decline and economic crisis. The area is part of the so-called ‘Belvédère Plan’, a master plan for the redevelopment of a large part of Maastricht. In 1999, the architect Frits Palmboom presented the plans for a new residential area on the Sphinx terrain and their realization started in 2004. However, due to the economic crisis, many urban development projects have encountered delays and postponement. The Belvédère terrain in Maastricht is also facing these problems, with the consequence that various plans are either delayed or subject to a reassessment. Amongst others, this has led to a situation in which an already serviced plot will remain undeveloped for years to come. Behind the historic walls of this former industrial area, a desolate wilderness has emerged over the past two years, creating the ideal conditions to address the question of the park of the future. Centrally situated, enclosed and featuring a rugged beauty, this walled area presents the ideal environment for a temporary park; the Sphinxpark.

http://www.landschapinperspectief.nl