netherlands to america, non-stop

It's kind of a busy week for me. I've got a lot on my mind: trying to finish writing a revised research plan to send out to my reading group for the end of the month (it's my turn to present - eek!), two interesting talks to attend (today and tomorrow) with interesting people to 'network with', volunteering on Wednesday at a senior's home in Amsterdam-Noord and then meeting my speaking partner in the evening... All of this, and the Olympics are happening in Vancouver!

But wait, Vancouver isn't in America. Yes, I know. Don't think that just because I haven't lived in Canada for over half a year means that I've forgotten the very important national distinctions marked out by the 49th parallel... So, why, you might be asking, is 'America' in the title for this post?

Well, it's inspired by some interesting web-items that came my way last week as well as what's happening on *Friday*, marking the end of my busy week.

The first Netherlands-America connection was in this article about biking in style, a.k.a. like the Dutch, in NYC. If you didn't already know, the Dutch ride their bikes everywhere, in all sorts of weather, and look amazing doing it. Though the article focuses on men's fashion, I can't help but be amazed every time I see a woman in a skirt and fashionable heels cycling through the streets of Amsterdam.

Secondly, in America (as in Canada), it is Black History Month. So, coming to me via www.dumpert.nl (a kind of repository for funny videos, but also a whole lot more) is a clip from the one and only Stephen Colbert about the Dutch and Black History Month). Food for thought, indeed!

And finally, this Friday (not Saturday as I had originally thought!) some pretty obvious connections between NL and America are being made with the much anticipated opening of Amsterdam artist and geographer, Eva Pel's "Observations of a Celebration NY400" photo exhibit at my friend Nina's little gallery, 1k Project space! Eva's exhibition is part of a wider project she had been working on when I first met her, which she turned into a really cool little book of interviews. The following is the blurb that Nina has up about Eva's work on the gallery's site:

Eva Pel is a visual artist and urban geographer interested in the fields of urbanism, urban history and sociology. The subjects for her projects often involve these fields, while her research methods come to production mainly through photography and interviews. Her most recent focus has been researching and documenting cultural celebrations, events and spectacles, such as the Olympics held in Torino, and last year’s NY400- the year long celebration commemorating Henry Hudson's arrival in New York in 1609, and 400 years of Dutch culture in New York.
...
Pel visited New York in the summer of 2009 to observe events and festivities representing Dutch culture during NY400.

Her goal was to come to some kind of conclusion regarding questions such as: What is there actually to see during the celebrations, what do we want to show from the Netherlands, who is the audience, and did 'we' make a difference in New York? What did we have to say?

Her exhibition at 1K Projectspace will present a more extensive view of the images she made during her fieldwork, as well as those included in her book.

Exciting! So, while you're waiting for the end of the week to roll around in order to check out Eva's work for yourself, you can read the article about the joys of the Dutch bicycle or watch Colbert make connections between the Dutch colonial past and contemporary America.

If your week is even busier than mine and can't make it over to 1K Project space this weekend, Eva's photos will be on display until March 28th.