De Slaper / The Sleeper
About this activity.
'“Watcher, Sleeper, Dreamer”' is a series of three walks named after the old poetic names and functions of dike systems in the Netherlands. Here, the watcher first protects against the outside water, and the inland sleeper catches any breach. Behind this sleeper sometimes lies another dreamer. These walks are organised by visual artist Marjolijn Dijkman as part of her WaterLANDS artist residency (2023-2026). The second walk in the series is with Carla Alma and Lotte Jensen.
Carla Alma
During the first half of the walk, activist and former administrator Carla Alma (Noorderzijlvest Water Board and Wadden Association) takes us through the recent, eventful history of the Dollard area. She she sheds light on a tipping point that occurred in the 1970s: a moment when thinking about nature and water management changed dramatically. The emerging environmental movement clashed head-on with the established political order, especially at the provincial level. It was a time of resistance, rethinking and new visions of how we deal with the landscape - a change that can still be felt today in Polder Breebaart and its surroundings. What conflicts were at play at the time? How did the environmental movement leave its mark on the landscape? And what might this area have looked like if history had taken a different turn?
Lotte Jensen
During the second half of the walk, cultural historian Lotte Jensen reflects on the deep-rooted interaction between man and water in the Dollard area. For centuries, land reclamation and dike breaches have shaped the landscape, marked by disasters as well as recovery. Water not only threatened communities, but also connected them - it brought loss, but also togetherness. The battle against water lives on in stories, songs and memories. Sometimes we overcame the water wolf, sometimes it overwhelmed us. Lotte Jensen will discuss how this struggle has influenced our national identity and how the cultural representation of disasters and reconstruction took on new meaning over the centuries. As sea levels rise due to climate warming, we are once again confronted with our vulnerability - and perhaps also with a renewed awareness of who we are, and how we want to coexist with water?
Walk
The Dollard, one of the few brackish-water tidal areas in Europe, was created by storm and water. In the 14th and 15th centuries, heavy storm surges plagued the southern bank of the Eemsmond. Around 1510, the Dollard reached its largest size - a vast inland waterway. Land reclamation began in the mid-16th century; about two-thirds is now reclaimed. During our joint walk, we allow the landscape to speak to us and we will interpret it from the perspective of the sleeper in a broad sense. The sleeper protects us from the possible breach of the waker dike, but also carries the memory of a vanished coastline - an echo from a time before the last reclamation.
Polder Breebaart
Polder Breebaart was reclaimed in 1979 and was Groningen's last piece of reclaimed land, created when a new sea dike was constructed in the Dollard as part of the Delta Plan. This was done because they wanted to dig a canal from the neighbouring Punt van Reide to the Westerwoldse Aa.
During her residency in Groningen, Marjolijn Dijkman will investigate various locations related to nature restoration and de-poldering developments in the Ems-Dollard estuary. The residency will lead to a final presentation in spring 2027. The events organised by Dijkman link artistic research, dike construction, ecology, philosophy and regional history. The walks offer an in-depth look at the landscape with contributions from the artist and various experts with unique and local knowledge.
Walk with Marjolijn Dijkman, Carla Alma and Lotte Jensen
Date: 22 June 2025
Location: Polder Breebaart & Johannes Kerkhovenpolder
Time: 14:00 - 18:00 (walk-in from 13:30 with coffee/tea)
Start: Dallingeweersterweg 30, 9947 TB, Termunten
Length of walk: 10 km.
Limited entry: Please make reservations before 18 June 2025
Reservations via: info@wakerslaperdromer.nl
Participation: free
Dogs are not allowed on the route due to stray cattle.
For more information, see: www.wakerslaperdromer.nl
Waker Slaper Dromer.
‘Waker, Slaper, Dromer’ is een serie van drie wandelingen die zijn vernoemd naar de oude poëtische namen en functies van dijksystemen in Nederland. Daarbij beschermt de waker als eerste tegen het buitenwater, en vangt de landinwaarts gelegen slaper een eventuele doorbraak op. Achter deze slaper ligt soms nog een dromer. Deze wandelingen worden georganiseerd door beeldend kunstenaar Marjolijn Dijkman als onderdeel van haar WaterLANDS kunstenaarsresidentie (2023-2026). De tweede wandeling uit de serie is met Carla Alma en Lotte Jensen.
Location.
Polder Breebaart
Dallingeweersterweg 30
9947 TB Termunten
tel 0032485646146
wakerslaperdromer.nl/