Living Breathing Spaces no. 1 – a product of collective hearts – was the first event I had the honour to create in collaboration with Afrikaanderwijk Cooperation in Rotterdam-South in the spaces of Cultuur & Campus Putselaan, a recently renovated building intended to exist as “a space for cultural dialogue, community encounter and shared learning”. Through this event I followed multiple layers of what an event can be, what a space can be & what the connection between the performer and audience can be, all three being both my personal urges & part of my creative practice but at the same time all three also reflecting the collective exploration of what live, present art actually is and can be, how can it exist in alternative ways that deeply connect us and bring us closer through sharing spaces together & connecting art from various genres and backgrounds into one “living breathing organism”.
Through this event the building of Cultuur & Campus Putselaan opened up for the first time to the public, thus beginning to create new encounters and new memories. Living Breathing Spaces no. 1 invited the audience, to reflect on naturally emerging questions: What kind of space do we want to create as artists and human beings living during this time in this world, meeting in the city of Rotterdam? What kind of space can hold both our imagination as artists and as human beings transformed into reality? What kind of places do we want our voices, our art and our experiences and newly created memories to be embodied within?
Through this event we wanted to make the spaces alive and breathing by letting sounds and words resonate across the corridors, staircases, rooms. The same way as all living beings on our Earth are interconnected, running deeply through her veins, creativity comes from one source. We brought music & poetry together, coming from various genres and backgrounds yet deeply connected in one source of creative self-expression. During this afternoon we encountered music and poetry by multiple Rotterdam-based musicians and poets, each of them bringing their distinctive voice and creativity into Living Breathing Spaces.
During Living Breathing Spaces no. 1 – a product of collective hearts – we met the music performed by Lucas Bernardo da Silva (violinist), sharing the intimacy and the depth of solo violin music; we encountered the words of Mustapha Eaisaouiyen (housing activist, spoken word artist & poet), embodying the poetry deeply rooted in the lived stories and culture of the local community; we were embraced by the music-created-in-the-moment by Lucija Gregov (cellist, improviser, composer) & Bernat Boronat (clarinetist, improviser), exploring and opening up the space through their cello & bass clarinet immersive conversations; we were invited into the music world of Denk neni (poet, musician), combining hiphop and poetry into one lived expression of resistance and love.
We were welcomed by Janneke Absil (artist, organiser, Afrikaanderwijk Cooperatie) & Kim Bouvy (visual artist, curator, organiser) speaking from the heart and the experience of the many created local initiatives and collective projects; and we were guided through the spaces by Dorota Márföldi-Matejová, living her imagination and dreams through her poems and
songs performed on various flutes.
written & programmed by Dorota Matejová (freelance artist and educator), august 2025
initiated & supported by Janneke Absil (freelance artist, Afrikaanderwijk Wijkcoöperatie)
produced by Kim Bouvy (freelance cultural programmer/producer)
event on 07-september-2025 at Cultuur&Campus Putselaan, Rotterdam
music x movement x poetry • by Dorota Márföldi-Matejová 