When you look at grasses, you see one of the most common plant species in the Netherlands. When you look even closer, you see that this plant is rooted and intertwined with all kinds of themes in our daily lives: from our food system to the migration of culture, from politics and economy to the climate. With Seeds for (x)change, the second chapter of the project Grassroots, the Onkruidenier reflects on this layering by highlighting grasses in Spangen on a hyperlocal level. Can we see grasses as storytellers of complex (global) food and climate issues? We explore how grasses locally create a different form of exchange and connect us socially from different (grass) perspectives. From lovegrass to wall barley. From determination to wind trading. From tide book to sidewalk culture. Since the summer of 2021, de Onkruidenier has rooted in Spangen to learn from different grassroots and grassroots initiatives. With Grassroots, de Onkruidenier unfolds a (social) ecosystem centered around (ex)change. Join this exchange in which we interweave the local landscape of Spangen with themes around grasses. This will happen in a public program, through the exhibition and with an interactive sculpture.

De Onkruidenier was established in 2013 and the current team members are Jonmar van Vlijmen, Rosanne van Wijk and Ronald Boer. They like to call themselves ecosystem futurists using speculative tools to explore various forms of entanglement with our living environment. With their practice they reveal possible interpretations on the changing relationship between human and nature. Their proposition is that we ourselves can adapt to our environment not only from a technological point of view, but also physically and biologically. Instead of constructing the landscape towards our own human needs, how can we learn to adapt in a changing landscape? Using various artistic and interactive methods, the collective creates playful and eco-hopeful work. Currently the work of the collective can be seen at: — group exhibition Chapter 5ive, The Countryside at Het HEM in Zaandam. The collective was recently selected for an artist in residency at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR) that will start upcoming autumn.

---

Seeds for (x)change is supported by the Municipality of Rotterdam, the VriendenLoterij Fund, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and the Mondriaan Fund.

---

EVENT

10.09.2022, 16:00—19:00
Opening
Being as a Tree
ALEXANDRA NAVRATIL
&
Seeds for (x)change
DE ONKRUIDENIER

---

EVENT

14.09.2022, 14:00—18:00
Backstage with de Onkruidenier: explore and design the tools of the Grassroots ecosystem
Ruimtekoers Akademie workshop: DE ONKRUIDENIER
In collaboration with community worker LENN COX

---

EVENT

17.09.2022, 14:30—16:00
Reap a grain — Walk
by DE ONKRUIDENIER
During this grass expedition, de Onkruidenier will take you along special grasses of Spangen.
Love grass, creeper, street grass... these are just some of the grasses that have become the central focus of the collective's research. What stories do the grasses tell us?

You can purchase your ticket HERE.

Whether the activity takes place in English or Dutch depends on the language of the participants and will be decided on the spot.

---

EVENT

23.09.2022, 15:00—16:00
Grazing in Spangen — Walk
by BODEMZICHT
During this informative walk, we graze through Spangen with Anne van Leeuwen from Bodemzicht. We will zoom in on the question of what grasses actually do and how we can allow grasses to do their job again.

You can purchase your ticket HERE.

Whether the activity takes place in English or Dutch depends on the language of the participants and will be decided on the spot.

---

EVENT

08.10.2022, 10:00—12:00
Together Housekeeping — Workshop
by LENN COX in collaboration with DE ONKRUIDENIER
We will start this workshop with an airy breakfast and playfully zoom in on issues in the neighbourhood, and zoom out to place these in a broader framework. From hyperlocal to global.

You can purchase your ticket HERE.

This activity will be in Dutch.

---

EVENT

05.11.2022, 14:30—16:00
Harvesting — Finissage of the exhibition
by DE ONKRUIDENIER
Last chance to come and visit the exhibition!
Today, we look back at Grassroots - Seeds for (x)change and close the exhibition. But not to worry, the programme of activities continues! The grasses from the exhibition will get a special treatment to prepare them for the workshop with Suzanne Bernhardt on November 26th.

You can purchase your ticket HERE.

Whether the activity takes place in English or Dutch depends on the language of the participants and will be decided on the spot.

---

EVENT

19.11.2022, 11:45—14:00
Street love on the Spoordijk — Opening and activity
by NATUURLIJK SPANGEN, ZWERFIE ROTTERDAM, GROENE CONNECTIE, A TALE OF A TUB
We celebrate the opening of two cabinets on the Spoordijk where you can find all kinds of resources to keep the Spoordijk clean. Activate a new season of grasses with seed bombs, try out the Grassroots tools or play the werfie-bingo.

You can purchase your ticket HERE.

This activity will be in Dutch.

---

EVENT

26.11.2022, 14:30—16:00
Weaving and Interweaving — Workshop
by SUZANNE BERNHARDT
Sowing, growing, harvesting, processing, grinding, folding, weaving. During this conclusive workshop, we will weave many different dried grasses from Spangen into a collective mat. We will finish the afternoon with a collective taste experience that we will share, sitting around the interwoven grasses.

You can purchase your ticket HERE.

Whether the activity takes place in English or Dutch depends on the language of the participants and will be decided on the spot.

---