Passage – Annelies Dijkman (2006)

‘Create a work of art that relates to the experiences of children up to 12 years of age’. That was the art commission at ‘window school’ Koorenspoor at Molukkenstraat 1. The new building, designed by DAAD Architecten, has now been completed. Three new buildings have been added to the existing school, spread across the square. An art committee consisting of representatives of the school, DAAD Architecten and the CBK selected the artists. Annelies Dijkman (1958) from Leiden was awarded the commission. On 13 April 2006, the work of art enjoyed a celebratory unveiling in the presence of around 600 enthusiastic children and parents. On this day, the new building of the window school was officially inaugurated by Alderman for Education, José van Schie.

The glazed walkway and the passage
A ‘window school’ is a partnership between various institutions, such as schools, playgroups, nurseries, music school, the library and the GGD. All kinds of activities are organised for local residents, parents and children from 0 to 12 years of age, both inside and outside of school.
Artist Annelies Dijkman chose the glazed walkway to support her work of art. To connect the buildings together, DAAD Architecten laid a sort of covered pathway of 145 metres in length. This allows you to walk from one building to another whilst keeping dry. At the same time, this glazed walkway splits the square into 2 parts.
Dijkman designed 49 60 x 120 cm glass panels for the wooden roof of the glazed walkway and called the entire structure Passage. Each panel contains a fragment of the world map, equating to around 3 or 4 countries each time. The fragment is finished in bright, transparent colours that you can see through. Cibachrome has been applied between hardened glass panels. Cibachrome is a high-quality photographic print on which bright colours can be achieved. In good weather, the sun will project spots of colour onto the ground.

Meaning
Passage brings children into contact with art in a playful way. They can experience the colours through the play of light, as well as the spots on the ground appearing and disappearing. When they look up, they see clouds, the sun, the rain, birds and planes through the maps. They might recognise a country, or maybe they just see spots of colour. It shows that the world is bigger than their schoolyard, but what that world looks like is down to their imagination.

The square is actually all about borders. It is an open area but is also characterised by demarcated areas for toddlers and pre-schoolers, by the segregation and the glazed walkway, by the hedges around the school gardens and the water. Your age determines the space in which you can move. The glazed walkway is perhaps the most interesting boundary: in addition to being an elongated architectural element in which you can walk and play, it is also a corridor leading to the outside world.