What’s the next step?

Summer is just around the corner, which means the We OK! project is also taking a break. Artist David Bade shares how things have gone over the past weeks and what the plans are for after summer:

"Haagse Beemden is working on a film where fiction and reality come together. The young people developed storylines and scenes, but not everyone was always there to complete and finish it. So the film needed an extra layer, and while thinking about the exhibition, we came to Grote Broer Grote Zus (GBGZ). Such a great and special organization we're collaborating with deserves to be highlighted in the film. This film, where art and GBGZ meet, will be on view in the exhibition starting in April. This week we're shooting the last footage for the film with a drone."

In Heuvel, also known as Zuid-West, we're working in a fantastic space: the atrium in De Vlieren. The car has been a frequent topic, but why did we choose a car? We noticed there was a need for outdoor gatherings. That led to the idea of not making a food truck, but a game truck—a vehicle that can drive through the neighborhoods and encourage people to take action. Who knows, you might see it passing by after summer.

Hoge Vucht is once again very much its own thing. Here we focused on creating a living-room feeling. We move around the neighborhood with a buffet cabinet, each week in a new location. These have been great sessions with meaningful conversations, for example at a community center or shopping mall. The young people talk with passers-by about what faith or giving to others means to them. Last week we were at the library in Hoge Vucht, a beautiful spot that really fits our project’s goals. After all, they too have the mission of doing more with the neighborhood.

Before the summer holiday really starts, We OK! will still be at the neighborhood camping in Hoge Vucht from 11 to 13 July. I’ll be giving several workshops there. In September we’ll come back together—the artists, Grote Broer Grote Zus, the museum, and I—and continue working on the artworks and shaping the exhibition. We’ll keep building on what we started together. We’ve touched on and picked up so many things. I’m looking forward to summer, but I’m also really excited for the next step."