Festival a/d Werf has invited London-based artist Anne Bean to create a new work, inspired by the multitude of languages spoken in Utrecht, and how different cultures contribute to a city’s shifting dynamism, and vice-versa. It started in November 2009 with a poem by Anne about the components of identity. Forty people from twenty linguistic groups then sequentially engaged with the project. The poem travelled through their languages, with Dutch acting as a link between them. Each translation reveals the subtle permutations of meaning and emphasis that each language adds to its evolution. WHOSEYWHATS is realised both in book form, in which readers can follow the ’travelling poem’ and its translators, and in a dynamic kinetic sculptural intervention by designer Gijs van Bon. You will find the machine in the city centre during the festival. This unique poetry project pays homage to the city of Utrecht and its inhabitants, commemorating their hospitality over the 25 years since Festival a/d Werf has existed.
