'RET Connects' is a design contest for third year Fine Art & Exchange students and the title is the theme for the project. The project that wins the contest will be realised by the RET. In conjunction with the Kings birthday this year.
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The Dutch patriotism was the initiative for the project as a starting point. Every year the Dutch celebrate this national holiday with street events, festivals and receptions. This year was a special celebration in particular as it was his 50th birthday
Everyday on my commute into university, I would record short clips of my journey in search of ideas for the project.
This led to the idea to host a photoshoot at Gerdesiaweg using the national colors and common flowers grown and exported from the Netherlands.
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In order to spread the word I created a Facebook page and event and used the country's crest
Click on the images below:
Next step in the process was to make a photoshoot backdrop, I researched cost effective ways to make a poster frame and visited my nearest DYI store called Praxis where they have a self-service workshop to construct your own work (and free coffee vending machine, a common feature in supermarkets and shops!!)
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View images below:
Following this, I had to request permission from RET to photograph/film at the station which took a long time to sort out due to permit requirements within the station. I resorted to hosting the event outside the station as that was regarded as local council parameters.
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I also designed leaflets & posters to advertise at the station for both English and Dutch speakers prior the event and during.
Finally the last preparation was the flower frame and crowns. I used cardboard to construct the frames and started arranging the flowers later evening to ensure the flowers were fresh for the event.
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Click images to see their meanings:
The day of the event had arrived and at first people were weary about what was going on, and some thought it was chargeable, but with a friendly smile, a brief explanation, verbal permission to publish the images and the first volunteer out the way , the interests started flying in.
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On the first day I had taken 8 portraits, the second day 7 and the last day 2 however some of the images were of a group of disabled children accompanied by their carers, so they contacted me afterwards and politely requested that their photos are not used due to the sensitive nature of under age special needs regulations.
So after what I considered a successful event with 17 portraits taken, the editing process started. As I said before, unfortunately I was not able to submit all portraits, but I was happy with the 9 portraits I was able to submit for the proposal.
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View full images below:
For the meeting with RET we presented our ideas through a simple presentation where they had the opportunity to ask questions. I explained that the existing poster boards can be used to display the photos with the addition of projection the short community film I produced along with the portraits.
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I explained that not only does it show celebrate the Dutch patriotism but also a fun way of engaging with the community who uses Gerdesiaweg. A way of connecting to society through the use of the transport system. It was also an exciting time for me to practise my Dutch learning to verbally communicate with the commuters and using a simple method of photography and flowers to brighten up their day.
During the 3 days of the event, I filmed the public and incorporated the portraits into it. Below is the film I produced for the proposal
A week following the meeting, it was announced that mine and Apoorva Singh's proposals have been shortlisted and a final decision will be made by end of June to choose the winning proposal. We were also informed that we will be invited to come back to Rotterdam to re-do the artwork as a final piece for the display in the station.
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We have still not heard back from RET or WDKA, so we are hoping to have an answer soon!