World Place – Michiel Kluiters (2011)

Commissioned by CBK, artist Michiel Kluiters designed Wereldplek (World Place), an interactive work of art for the new school boulevard in Groningen’s Lewenborg district. Wereldplek is the first permanent interactive work of art in Groningen’s Art in Public Spaces collection.

The work of art will amuse pupils of the adjacent and new vmbo school building and the existing mbo school. The artwork consists of three large stools, which serve as a canopy and smaller stools which are intended to sit on. Those who come near the artwork will notice that it is equipped with dedicated Wi-Fi hotspots. Pupils can use their smartphones to share music, read the latest news, chat and surf the internet. In a game, because there are 3 stools and 4 functions. Because there are only 3 stools for 4 interactive functions, each stool changes its function from time to time. The pupils themselves can influence exactly when this happens, within the game.

Educational environment
The work of art, in which Kluiters connects the virtual public space of the internet with the physical public space, came about in close collaboration with pupils and teachers who sat on the art committee and guided the process under our supervision. Realising works of art in an educational setting is one of the main focuses of the CBK’s art in public spaces policy. Pupils, schoolchildren and students are able to get to know art in an accessible way.

Michiel Kluiters
Michiel Kluiters  (Amsterdam, 1971) often plays with time and place in his work. He often makes site-specific installations with the aim of taking the spectator with him on a journey of looking, standing and moving. He recently installed a photo wall next to the council chamber especially for the town hall in Haren, and when you walk past it, the image seems to move.