The Belgian magazine Rekto Verso recently ran a review of my book by Mia Vaerman (in Dutch) with the title “Terug naar het wildebeest in ons” (“Back To The Wildebeest In Us”). That piece has now been translated into French by Annelies Hollewand and Adrian Gandolfo – to whom, many thanks.
Redécouvrir notre côté sauvage
On attache trop d’importance à nos réflections / pensées et pas assez à nos intuitions / sentiments, argumente le philosophe Brittanique JT dans How to Thrive in the Next Economy, livre plein Read More
Biennials and system change
I was invited to give a keynote in Milan to the general assembly of the International Biennials Association. My talk was called Life’s Work: Biennials and Regeneration. Here below is a summary:
The sad-looking structure above was the Dutch Pavilion not long after the Hannover World Expo ended in 2000.
Having helped to write the brief, I know first-hand that the Expo team hoped for a different outcome. The very essence of the Dutch pavilion was supposed to be sustainability, innovation, and long-term progress.
So what went wrong? Why do so many expos, festivals and biennials promise to change the world for the better – only to end up as trash?
A short answer: Many big-ticket events are thinly disguised real-estate plays in a world that is over-built. Pavilions, stadia and museums are too often conceived as ‘antenna buildings’ whose task is to attract attention to hitherto cheap land – and raise its price.
Looking forward, biennials have a more transformative role to play as Read More »