ART SCIENCE dialogue feat. Valerie van Leersum
The ART SCIENCE dialogue with artist Valerie van Leersum, Hans Alma, professor at the School of Religion and Theology, and Marit van Oostende, research associate specialising in Earth observation and aquatic remote sensing, will look into how our senses can deepen our connection to but also our knowledge on water.
How can we use our senses to deepen our understanding and connection to bodies of water? In this ART SCIENCE dialogue, the work of Valerie van Leersum forms the basis of a conversation on what sensory data, such as the colour of water, tells us about water both factually and emotionally. Her interactive installation The Color of the North Sea captures Van Leersum’s ongoing research, developed in collaboration with the Embassy of the North Sea, in which she asks people to capture their experiences of the North Sea by addressing their senses.The playful installation creates awareness, showing not only how our inner worlds are connected to nature, but also how the effects of climate are permeating everywhere through water.
The dialogue will be moderated by Manuela Zammit
About the speakers
Valerie van Leersum (1973) works as an artist, designer and explorer. In her work she focusses on the relationship between landscape and human identity. How does the landscape shape us, and how do we in turn shape our sense of belonging to it? For this she creates images and installations using objects, text, audio, collages and photography. For many of the works she collaborates with scientists and other professionals from different backgrounds.Starting with an artistic research, she is aiming for a poetic abstraction which invites the viewer to move between personal experience as well as the larger context of a phenomenon. In the last few years she cooperates among others with The Parliament of Things in the Embassy of the North see, CBK Zuid-Oost, Het Zuiderzeemuseum, Kibii Foundation, Stroud Valley Art space, Veem-house and Oerol.
Hans Alma works as a professor of spiritual care and religious-humanistic meaning at the Faculty of Religion and Theology at VU University Amsterdam. She also has a practice as a coach and trainer in what she calls a “workshop for meaningful living and working”. Her academic work has been shaped by her interest in how people seek meaning in their lives and the sources they draw on to do so. A central focus of her research is the role of imagination and art in the search for meaning.
Marit van Oostende is a Research Associate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, working on the ‘Knowledge Network Water: New Earth Observation Data for Water Research and Applications.’ Specialising in Earth observation and aquatic remote sensing, her current role focuses on water quality through the application of current and future space technologies to improve Dutch water management.
Manuela Zammit is a contemporary art historian and critic based in the Netherlands. She currently coordinates the Research & Development department at Nieuwe Instituut (Rotterdam) and lectures in contemporary art and culture at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her writing regularly appears on Metropolis M magazine, academic journals and other more experimental platforms. In 2023, she completed a Research Master in Critical Studies in Art and Culture at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.