Treatment of the soil
Young Observatorium
Treatment of the Soil
26 June – 2 July 2014
Works in the park: everyday at 10 am – 1pm, 4pm – 8pm
Sun, 29 June 12pm coffee with the artists
Wed, 2 July, 5pm, picnic/meeting with the artists
Millenium Park
Zielona Góra
Four young architects and artists collaborating with the Dutch Observatorium
group will embark on their project to deal with temporary changes in
Millenium Park. Their perception of the site was obscured by a bad condition
of the soil and the unkempt vegetation. Thus, together with the residents of
Zielona Góra the artists will start works in the eastern part of the park in order
to reclaim and redevelop it. This ardous physical work will continue for five
days, and will end with a public picnic, during which a meeting with the artists
will also take place.
The park is in need of constant care and attention. A great deal of area is left
neglected and uncared for, subject to further deterioration. However, as a a
result of allowing the green area to develop freely, a number of individual
picturesque sites have been formed, which undoubtedly contribute to the
beauty and potential of the park, Zielona Góra’s ’wild’ lungs. The artistic
intervention is intended to revive the natural beauty of one of these areas,
and the main idea of the project is to give the soil thorough treatment. As the
soil has preserved the historical content of the area, while the land is
cultivated and looked after, the history of the site is also taken care of.
Through their activities the artists (as gardeners) want to tap into residents’
willingness to identify themselves with the site, and encourage them to
common activities aimed to improve public space. The gardening works and
treatment that the soil and plants will be subject to will enable the residents to
discover the strenghts of the place. The residents of Zielona Góra will have
an opportunity to continue the works started by the Young Observatorium
artists also upon their leaving.
Everyone is encouraged to join the works in Millenium Park to make the park
become an even more friendly place.
[Young] Observatorium (Ymke Vertelman, Maila Mangiapanello, Lieven
Poutsma, Suze Hoek) are partners of the Dutch Observatorium group based
in Rotterdam, which deals with public space and urban wasteland.
Observatorium was established by Geert van de Camp, Andre Dekker i Ruud
Reutelingsperger in 1997, and it has been run by the same artists ever since.
The artists focus on relationships that can be found between art, landscape
and society. The ’Treatment of the Soil’ project has been launched by the
group specifically for Millenium Park.
Organized by: The Salony Foundation, BWA Zielona Góra
Cooperation: Observatorium/ Rotterdam
Media patron: Magazine Miasta, Res Publica Nowa, Radio Zielona Góra
The exhibition is a part of the project “Millennium Park. Trials, sketches, scenarios of the new public space”. The project is founded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Austrian Culture Forum in Warsaw and Zielona Góra City Council.