Luc Janssens

Director/facilitator/curator at Expodium, platform voor jonge kunst ^*

Expodium's art projects run parallel to the ongoing developments in the vicinity of Central Station in Utrecht. Expodium intends to contribute to the dialogue about the design of, and thinking about our cities through critical reflection and shaping a vision from the autonomous domain of the visual arts.

From their independent position the visual arts are a medium that can offer suggesties and different perspectives during the development process for urban areas. By definition, an artist is not bound by the rules and codes of the applied disciplines that are generally occupied with urban renewal. Thus a standpoint from the visual arts can break through habitual ways of thinking and give an impetus for conceiving solutions to problems that count. Expodium works together with artists who still have the open attitude and way of seeing things that we believe is necessary to effect change in established thinking.

As much as possible, Expodium takes notice of current tendencies and situations in urban development. We spot a trend in this development and on the basis of it formulate a concept for a project.

In the context of the project Expodium then generates a quantity of knowledge by organising expert meetings in which specialists from various disciplines (architecture, planning, visual arts, sociology and philosophy) provide input. Because of the diverse professional backgrounds of the experts it is possible to obtain a broad inventarisation of opinions, which become the basis for the shape which the project will take during its whole course. The element of critical importance in Expodium's projects is what is termed ‘Practice Led Research’. The research is performed on the basis of practice. We make every effort not to just work out a predetermined concept. As a consequence we achieve a dynamic approach for our projects and we can move flexibly through the domain of codified urban development, bound up in its rules.