Utrecht is growing. Really fast. It is the fastest growing city in the Netherlands. Over the next 18 years we will need room for an additional 95.000 new Utrechters. In The Village Utrecht the visitor plays the starring role in his or her own documentary about this rapidly expanding city. An interactive app leads you via your headphones as you ride from the city centre to three crucial urban crossroads that will be drastically changing over the next few years: the public transport hubs at Lunetten, Leidsche Rijn and Overvecht and the surrounding districts. What are the effects of the changes on the city and of its inhabitants? Are we allowed a say in the ways in which the city evolves? Is there any room left for me in this new city? Am I allowed to be here?
For The Village Utrecht art collective Nieuwe Helden has immersed itself in Utrecht and all its districts. For more than a year they talked with experts and neighbours, lifelong residents and newcomers, guests, landowners and undocumented persons. They talked about urbanisation, identity, property, democracy and humanity. Nieuwe Helden is inviting you to lose your way in the city and acquaint yourself with Utrechters and their town.
Please note: for this performance you need a bicycle, a smartphone with internet and headphones. The Village requires some skill in using a smartphone and cycling to navigate through a busy city. If you are not able to arrange a (ov) bicycle, please contact kassa@springutrecht.nl
“The Village is a format in which the Nieuwe Helden company creates a unique picture of the city. What is extremely valuable in their work, is that they do not make statement or judge what they investigate. Instead, they tell the city’s story based on contributions from the local community, and present it to a larger audience community. “The Village” offers a mirror to reflect on our community, made by us and for us, to make this community a slightly better place together.” – Grzegorz Reske, artistic director SPRING