PARKers at Frontenpark Maastricht

Lukas Kramer

From 31st of August until 8th of September you can (re)discover Frontenpark thanks to PARKers exhibition.

It is located so close to the historic city of Maastricht, however for many people including me a forgotten and unknown territory with a diverse scenery, cultural-historical, and nature. A lush ‘wild’ nature with traces of the industrial past and the remains of seventeenth-century fortifications.
In the near future, this area will be developed as the Frontenpark: a new city park on the north side of the city centre.
In the last forty years this place was quite neglected and forgotten and now it is in the starting point of transition to become a new urban landscape.
This is so exciting, it feels like Maastricht is growing up, literally growing.

Since this summer an extensive program of activities has started to take place in the Frontenpark. My first encounter with the Frontenpark happend last weekend at the opening of PARKers, curated by the Bart van den Boom and Ilona van den Brekel.
This is such a wonderful opportunity to get to know this new place and get inspired by nine temporary art installations.

PARKers presents nine temporary artworks/installations in public space by these artists: Jeroen van Bergen, Charbel-Joseph H. Boutros, Jens Brouwers, Stefan Cools, Paul Devens, Lucas Kramer, La Bolleur, Han Rameckers and Oscar Santillan.

PARKers is initiated by Huis voor de Kunsten Limburg, in collaboration with Bureau Europa and Van Eyck Academy.
www.frontenpark.nl

opening Saturday 31st August

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