Our craft is our heritage
Taking the crafts of the Transylvanian Saxons as a starting point, I am investigating the cultural connections between the Netherlands, Germany and Romania.
Re-mixed heritage
The community of the Flandrenses, today known as the Transylvanian Saxons, settled in waves in Transylvania from the 12th century onwards. They were recruited from the Meuse Valley, a region that today belongs to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and France.
Therefore, the cultural heritage of the Transylvanian Saxons is based on a fascinating European cultural mix. These different influences can still be identified today in the costumes, traditions, house construction, household items and language since this community lived very closedly.
In the 1990s, there was a exodus of this ethnic minority to Western Europe. Only a few thousand stayed in Transylvania. The majority returned to their roots, leaving behind most of their tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
My project examines this historical span, which leads from Western Europe to Eastern Europe and back, using different crafts as examples (e.g. basketry, ceramics, embroidery, weaving and wood crafts).
I will show how closed communities have their identity embedded in their crafts and that these identities are often a mixture of centuries-old traditions, migration experiences and assimilation.
The subtopics of my research project are:
–(Cultural) sustainability
–Forgotten crafts
–Closed communities
–Fusion of crafts and art
–The artisans of the future
The research forms the knowledge foundation on which I will develop an exhibition in the longer term.
Research in Romania
During my research in Transylvania I visited numerous museums, archives and fortified churches, spoke with curators and conservators, incl. Camelia Ștefan, Simona Malearov, Viorel Ştefu, Diana Macarie, Sergiu Török, Iris Ordean and art historian Jan de Maere.
The designers and curators Marlene and Alex Herberth (KraftMade) told me about their work and their local history museum in Cincu. I had a conversation with the artist Lilian Theil about her extraordinary rag pictures.
The restorer Ștefan Vaida introduced me to his projects on monument conservation and showed me his historical collection.
I visited Ceramica Nocrich, a ceramic workshop for children and met Manuela Ivan a painter of traditional furniture. Coppersmith Emil Calderar, tile painter Michael Henning and leather craftsman Uwe Boghian explained their craft to me. In addition, I researched the work of artists Constantin Brâncuși, Maia Ștefana Oprea and Dan Vezentan and basket weaver Mariana Buruiană.
Monica Boța-Moisin, a lawyer specialising in ‘cultural intellectual property’ explained me the ‘3C Rule’, which aims to ensure the recognition of cultural intellectual property rights and fair, ethical collaboration between artisans and the fashion industry.
Research in the Netherlands
During my research on crafts in the Netherlands I visited numerous museums and archives, incl. Wereldmuseum, Nederlands Openluchtmuseum, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum Kranenburgh and Limburgs Museum.
I spoke to artisans and craft artists, among others Daphne van den Berg, Sarah Pedlow, Lucie Huig and researched the work of Maddy Arkesteyn, Cynthia Hathaway, Adrianus Kundert, Amandine David, Ésme Hofman, Joris van Tubergen, Alicia Minnaard, Chris Kabel and Claudy Jongstra.
You can read more about my research and the articles that I published about it on the website:
Archiving family memories and dreams.
Here you can also read an Interview about my project that was published in the ADZ newspaper (RO).
Follow my visual research on Instagram.
The project is made possible with support from DutchCulture and the Mondriaan Fund.
The Romanian artist is considered the forefather of the fusion of crafts, sustainability and art and forms an important inspiration for craftsmen and artists.
In a presentation to the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), I shared and discussed my research on re-mixed heritage.