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Spring Gather Together

March 21

Come celebrate the spring at Plaatsmaken! On Saturday, March 21, we are organizing the Spring Gather Together.

Over the past few months, artists Jivan van der Ende, Merel Nijhuis, and the Queer Collective Workers’ Union have been working in our studios. The work created during this 'Ploegendienst' will be festively presented and activated. This presentation will remain on view for two months after the Spring Gather Together. 

The Spring Gather Together is part of the multi-year programme H0Ha, curated by curators Sunflower Soup. Within this programme, Plaatsmaken’s workshops are used to experiment with forms of protest and resistance through image and language. Poets, visual artists, activists and publishers are invited to collaborate at Plaatsmaken in so-called ‘Ploegendiensten’ (work shifts).

Ploegendienst 5 | Jivan van der Ende, Merel Nijhuis en Queer Collective Workers' Union
Working period: January - March 2026
Opening (Spring Gather Together): 21 March
On view: 21 March - 23 May

On 21 March, activities will take place throughout the afternoon and evening from 16:00 to 20:00.

Programme

16:00 - 20:00 | Dark Room - Jivan van der Ende (ongoing)
light reflecting work wear in the dark room

16:00 - 20:00 | Collective banner making session for Nowruz (Iranian new year)
March 20st is Nowruz, Iranian New Year, a time to visit family and celebrate fresh beginnings. But there is little to celebrate this year, as Tehran is covered in toxic smoke and schools are bombed. To pay attention to this, Sunflower Soup invited Kasra Mehravar, a student at BEAR from Iran, to facilitate a collective banner making session during the Samenscholing on Saturday March 21st.

To come together and find comfort in these times, traditional Haft-Sin (seven dishes starting with the letter 'S') and Iranian soup will also be served. Everyone who feels concerned about the situation is very welcome to join.

16:30 | Opening exhibition
with short introductions by Sunflower soup and the artists

17:15 | Presentation by Merel Nijhuis

17:30 | Seed Packet tutorial - Queer Collective Workers' Union
Participants are invited to share workplace experiences on posters, which will be planted throughout the space as ‘seeds’.

During the Spring Gather Together we will be serving Iranian soup and bites, in honour of Nowruz (Iranian new year).

Merel Nijhuis
During the Ploegendienst at Plaatsmaken Merel made zines combining text, cyanotype and screenprinting. The work revolves around her experience of (crip) time, what it means to be ‘sane’ in our current political climate, wellness, joy and contradictions. Each zine is slightly different, making them as unique as the embodied experience of the moment in which they were produced: some zines were made during a headache, or while experiencing a tingling sensation in their fingertips. Some were made while soaking up the first spring sunrays. 

Merel Nijhuis is a cripqueer writer, artist and editor. She writes experimental poetry and is inspired by critical theory, cripping and queering practices, lingering memories and embodied experience. Their work has been published in literary magazines like nY and Hard//hoofd.

Jivan van der Ende
The artist's love of high-visibility workwear takes the centre stage and shows off its camp side. During Ploegendienst Jivan van der Ende delves into reflection and transparencies to see what happens when butts are out and about, dykes find lids and lights flash in the dark.

Jivan van der Ende is a visual artist who enjoys analyzing and dissecting symbols of power structures and social constructs. Her eclectic method is based on endless collecting, documenting, ripping apart, and reusing. A vital part of her work is her gender-bending research on clothing, which has been gradually taken over until it was completely hijacked by the unstoppable force of nature: the artist's fetish of high-visibility workwear.

Queer Collective Workers' Union
Queer Collective Workers' Union presents their founding Open Letter on a billboard, anchored by the contradiction: a collective demanding workers to “work alone.” Their counter-archive is an online publication tool using a “Seed Packet” template—inviting contributions across four layers, from essential to expansive. At their gathering, the billboard anchors the space, a projection displays the archive, and a resource table offers “Seed Packet” posters and Union merchandise. Union members host conversation, connecting their specific conflict to broader struggles. The event marks their public beginning. The infrastructure for collective authorship is under construction.


With the support of the Mondriaan Fund and the Municipality of Arnhem.