We were very happy to have Jan join us for the evening to talk about his creative practice and lead a drawing workshop. You can find some of the drawings that people produced and the recording of the event below.
In this event Jan Rothuizen will present his artistic practice of hand drawing maps to tell stories of place, and will be providing a workshop where he guides you through the creation of your own maps.
Jan Rothuizen is a visual artist and creative mapmaker based in Amsterdam. His ‘soft Atlas’ drawings have been translated into English, Spanish and Chinese and his work is shown at film festivals, museums and in galleries. He made the VR animated film 'Drawing Room' and the incredible interactive award-winning documentary 'Refugee Republic' about a refugee camp in Iraq.
Jan's drawings are made by a process of exploration, walking and sharp documentation. His practice of, in his own words, “sharing location-based stories” is as much research and reportage as clairvoyance. He uses information about a place to find the story he is going to tell, and then the story determines the map he produces. Over and through and coincident with the drawn scene are his observations and feelings in words. Teetering between pathetic fallacy and the dispassion of a police report, the words really carry you into the work.
Jan will be joined by Livingmappers Kimbal Bumstead and Jacob Wallett who will engage in discussion about Jan's work and about the pleasures (and challenges) of creative mapmaking.
Kimbal has much experience in using interactive drawing to create maps as part of his work, and shares Jan's fascination with stories of place. Jacob is an artist living in the Netherlands who's recent interview with Jan can be found in the latest issue of Livingmaps Review.
Programme:
Rothuizen will give a presentation about his artistic practice and a number of projects related to mapmaking. He will explain what motivates him to draw maps, and the interaction between image and text in his drawings, a crucial and fascinating part of his work. He will talk about his influences, notably the artist Saul Steinberg, writer, critic, and novelist Jonathan Raban, geographer Yi-Fu Tuan and Cornelis Anthonisz, a 16th century mapmaker from Amsterdam.
Jan will then lead a drawing workshop, inviting everyone to draw a 'map' of the room they are sitting in alongside feedback and friendly discussion.
Kimbal, Jacob and Jan will also have a discussion about Jan's projects, creative mapmaking, and how drawing can be a vital tool for public engagement.
We will end with a Q&A with the audience where we take questions and have a look at some of the maps people have come up with during the session.
Bring your best coloured pens, sharpest pencils and some paper!
WHEN: March 17th 2021, 18:00 (GMT)