During the hey day of summer, we invite you to the duo exhibition 'UMWELT Amstel' and 'Telling the Bees' by artists Floris Schönfeld and Stef Veldhuis in collaboration with ants and bees, which takes place both inside and outside the Glazen Huis. This month, we have several events: Dialogues with UMWELT Amstel, the Perennial Reading Group and our finissage debate.
Furthermore: we are thrilled to share two research programs that received funding, we look back at a report of Future Gardening @ Soil Assembly and we announce our plans for a Children's Council for Zoöp Amstelpark. Read all about it below and see you at the Amstelpark soon!
[DUO EXHIBITION]
UMWELT Amstel & Telling the Bees Floris Schönfeld & Stef Veldhuis Untill 13 September Location: het Glazen Huis
This summer, Zone2Source is bringing together two striking projects in and around the Glass House in Amstelpark: UMWELT Amstel by Floris Schönfeld and Telling the Bees by Stef Veldhuis. Both exhibitions challenge visitors to rethink the boundaries between biological and technological systems – and to reveal the invisible connections that surround us.
In UMWELT Amstel,Floris Schönfeld explores the possible entanglements of various entities within the Amstelpark: from insect hedges and tree roots to underground data cables and servers. The work playfully seeks a way to forge new, unexpected connections and make visible the interwoveness of different systems - the binary computational signals of machines and the pheromone driven communication of ants - with our human existence.
Four site-specific sculptures titled Portals which are placed around the Glass House are connected to the existing work PUK* Processor- housing two colonies of bees from the species Messor Barbarus- and a new work SIM Amstel which are installed inside the pavilion. All works are connected to each other via a mesh of data cables installed above ground in the park and running inside the pavilion. To learn more about these works and the artist himself, click here.
Telling the Bees by Stef Veldhuis shows the tension between two different logics of conservation. Human conservation typically focuses on stasis, trying to stop time and deny transformation and decay. Bees preserve their wax, honey, and brood through continuous adaptation. A stability that exists only under continuous change.
In Telling the Bees a colony of bees in a ceramic beehive topped with a large mask behind het Glazen Huis takes care of the archive of Hans de Vries, presented inside the glass pavilion, who in 1971 documented five beehives. The archive now exists under the care of the organisms described within it - with cables leading from the hive to a sensor module that records temperature, humidity and communication within the colony - creating a reciprocity of care. To learn more about these works and the artist, click here.
[UPCOMING EVENTS]
Dialogues UMWELT Amstel
Sunday 23 August • 16:00 - 18:00
Location: the Glazen Huis
Language: Dutch
Floris Schönfeld will give a talk on his work UMWELT Amstel, in which he explores possible connections between various biological and technological entities in Amstelpark, and will discuss the concept of entanglement with weaver Esmé Hofman, who was closely involved in the creation of UMWELT Amstelpark.
The Perennial Reading Group
Thursday 27 August • 17:00 - 19:00
Location: the Glazen Huis
Language: English
On Thursday, August 27th, The Perennial Reading Group under guidance of Anne Diestelkamp gathers for a collective reading about the relationship between biological and technological networks. We will read from James Bridle’s Ways of Being. Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence and discuss the concept of intelligence beyond the human: from the communication and of plants and animals to the complex networks of ecosystems and artificial intelligence. We will talk about bees, and ants, about the relationship between tree roots and the internet, about octopuses and biological randomness.
No preparation necessary. Texts will be provided on site.
Attending the event is free. Please register here (maximum 15 people).
Finissage Debate
Sunday 13 September • 15:00 - 18:00
Location: the Glazen Huis Artists Floris Schönfeld and Stef Veldhuis will engage in a conversation with each other and invited guests about the relationships between technological and biological information networks, how underground roots and data cables are intertwined with one another, and about the relationships between art and the non-human actors with whom they collaborate.
[LOOKING BACK]
Everything Underground: A Craft Workshop
On Thursday July 23rd, Floris Schönfeld led a workshop for children centred around the idea of the connection between people and their environment. Engaging with UMWELT Amstel as 'ants playing a computer game' the children met the ants and searched for the queen. Then they went out into the park to find materials for their own sculptures which in the end were turned into a collaborative work with the use of electrical wiring.
The Bees Tell - a talk On Agency and Indeterminacy
On Sunday July 26th, Stef Veldhuis invited Maia Kenney for a dialogue on "Telling the Bees", exploring relations between biological and technological information networks and between art and more than human agencies. Stef also demonstrated the process of caring for the bees in his installation, allowing visitors to taste the honey produced by the bees.
Future gardening: an assembly to rethinking our relationship to soil and the garden
During a full moon weekend, on the evening of May 30 and the day of the 31st, artists, gardeners, farmers, researchers and enthousiasts gathered in two artists gardens of Zone2Source - the Shadow Garden maintained by de Onkruidenier and Extreme Salad World by Genomic Gastronomy - to engage in experiments and gather for the 2nd Gardener's Assembly to rethink our relationship to soil and the garden as active participants in ecosystems. The programme was part of the international Soil Assembly and funded through an E.U. Soil Tribe scheme.
Beyond the Bubble Selected for Round Two of the Artistic & Design Research for Immersive Experiences Scheme
We are pleased to announce that our application, Beyond the Bubble—a consortium of makers, ecological institutes, and universities—has been selected for the second round of the Artistic & Design Research for Immersive Experiences scheme from the and CIIIC. Read more on the project and the partners here.
Initiatief Nederland (KIN) selects proposal for research emotional networks in Zoöp Amstelpark
We like to announce that in the context of Zoop Amstelpark, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, developed together with Zone2Source and the Zoonomic Institution has been awarded a grant from Initiatief Nederland (KIN) to work on new ways of conducting climate research.
Call for The Zoöp Amstelpark Children’s Council Exploratory workshop Children from 8 – 12 years
4 October 2026, 1:00 – 3:00 PM
On October 4, exactly one year after Zone2Source signed the founding contract for Zoöp Amstelpark together with the Municipality of Amsterdam, we are launching the plans for a children’s council. Zoöp Amstelpark Children’s Council will consist of 9 children aged 8 to 12. For six months they will have a say in a part of the Amstelpark. The central question of the Children’s Council is: “How can children be guides to interact with the living world in a better way?”
Want to join?
Are you a child aged 8–12 and do you want to join the Children’s Council, or are you curious to find out what we will be doing? Or are you a parent/guardian and do you want to know more? Then come to the exploratory workshop on October 4th from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, or send an email to info@zone2source.net for more information.
Zone2Source is looking for an intern! — September 2026
From September 2026, we are looking for a student or recent graduate (living in or around Amsterdam) to join our team for six months. Zone2Source values diversity within its organisation. People from different backgrounds in terms of education, origin, age, ability or culture are expressly invited to apply. If you are interested in this position, please send your CV and cover letter to communicatie@zone2source.net with the subject line “Internship application”.
Celebrating One Year of Zoöp Amstelpark Thursday, 1 October 2026, 13:00–18:30 Symposium Living Heritage in and beyond Amstelpark, Organised in collaboration with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam Friday, 2 October 2026, 13:00–18:00 A Roadmap for Rights of Nature in Policy — a gathering organised in collaboration with Stichting Rechten van de Natuur Sunday, 4 October 2026, 13:00–15:00Exploratory workshop for the Zoöp Amstelpark Children’s Council
Upcoming Exhibitions 11 October–6 December 2026Circuits and Ceremonies, with Sunjoo Lee, Adriana Knouf, Clair Williams and Ryan Jordan 12 December 2026–7 February 2027 Winterreisen: 4 Journeys Through a Winter Landscape, in collaboration with The Warp, featuring Mariah Blue & Ildiko Hervat, Alexei Papamarkou, and Eco Acoustics (Maaike van der Linde & Dario Calderone), ensemble Todo Modo
Locations in the Amstelpark,
Amsterdam
The Glass House
Amstelpark 7
Exhibitions and presentations
Rietveld Pavilion
Amstelpark 4
Office
Outdoor works and audio walks
can be visited daily during the Amstelpark’s opening hours.
A map is available outside the Glass House and online
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