PaperPlanes

PaperPlanes is a poetic political reflection on climate change and the relationship between the West and the global South, about diverse realities, about dreams, about shame. For some, the aeroplane is a symbol of mindless overconsumption and for others, it is a vessel of dreams. Who is allowed to fly, and whose hopes must remain on the ground? 

The audience, surrounded by 15.000 paper planes - symbolizing the 15.000 euros required from non-EU citizens to be able to apply for a European student visa - is confronted with the ethics of flying in a globalised world. Questioning capitalist conceptions of environmental justice through visual arts, storytelling, poetic reflections and experimental sound, PaperPlanes is a quest for a desirable future, away from oversimplified narratives. 

• Pankaj Tiwari is a contemporary artist, performance maker, and curator from Balrampur, India, currently based in Amsterdam. His works bring Eastern perspectives into the Western discourse on sociopolitical issues. Pankaj’s works have been presented a.o. in Holland Festival (NL), Belluard Bolwerk (SCH), DE SINGEL (BE), wpzimmer (BE), Zürcher Theaterspektakel (SCH), Santarcangelo Festival (IT), radialsystem (DE), Overheat IJ Festival (NL), performingborderslive (UK), Grand Theatre Groningen (NL) and Veem House for Performance (NL).

• Nick Verstand is a contemporary artist researching human perception through spatial audiovisual compositions. His autonomous installations and live performances investigate the frontier between the material and the immaterial and are created through collaborative design processes aimed at breaking down social boundaries. Nick has exhibited and performed at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The Shed (NYC), Museum of Contemporary Art (Shanghai, CHN), National Opera & Ballet (NL), STRP Festival, Design Society (CHN), Paris Couture Week (FR), SXSW (USA), Dekmantel Festival, Art Central Hong Kong, MTV VMAs (NYC), Design Museum Gent (BE), Iceland Airwaves (IS) and collaborated with artists such as Iris van Herpen, Björk, Lykke Li, Eefje de Visser, Charlotte Adigéry, Doja Cat, Fatima Yamaha and Suzanne Ciani.