This is Peter, the spokesperson of Vreewijk's community

The original statue used to stand with her face 'towards the light'. The statue was built with the idea that 'the truth' rises out of the shapes at the bottom - to honor this aspect of the statue, we decided to add the new stories within the digital statue, and to make them become visual as a color at the bottom of the statue - when you put your story in the digital monument it moves from the bottom into the monument where it takes the form of the monument itself and rises up 'shooting' through the statue into the light.

Conceptual idea

The concept development

We had the idea to fill it with stories from the people of Vreewijk . The statue will become visible by filling it up with the stories. The people of Vreewijk want the monument back so that’s why we are using the shape of the original monument. But we want the monument to be more exclusive. That is why we made it interactive. The people of Vreewijk can add their memory or a story from the area. We want the stories to live on and by that bring the past to the future.

Peter – he met the children of the couple nurse + beaver and togethtre they made a big exhibition in 2018 about the show 50 years after its birth fabeltjes krant - he doesn’t like fences and gates – missing sense of openness (open gardens, classic Dutch open windows) and community.

Netty van den Ende was an activist that had advocated for keeping the old village intact.
A while ago the housing cooperation wanted to demolish the houses here and put something else in place. She revolted against it and she won.
We are going to make something to honor her in the fall at the lake. She eventually cane to the minister and that led to this neighborhood being declared as a protected neighborhood.

When (Acorn Man name) was 6 he planted an acorn in his garden. It grew into an Oak Tree which is still there after 80 years. Another Oak was planted in his honor.

The Local Gardening Inspection and Competition: 2-3 years after the beginning of Vreewijk, a garden competition and inspection started to encourage people to take care of their gardens so as to maintain the aesthetic of the community. Certain rules would have to be kept such as a tidy house, front and back garden. Fences were not allower, only green hedges.

Food Bank – On the upper floor of their home, a local couple started the Food Bank which expanded throughout Netherlands.

Fabeltjeskrant or “The Daily Fable” is a Dutch children's television series featuring puppetry and stop motion which originates in Vreewijk. It was created in 1968 by Leen Valkenier, as a means to cope with the pain after the war by returning to his childhood memories. During the war, the writer lived in Vreewijk, where he got his inspiration for the characters of a few animals of the fable from his friends - a group of boys and girls, called “De Tondeldoos”, that gathered in the Vredeskerk and in a nearby community house, and held a secret cabaret, as well as theatre-sketches and songs against the occupiers, rituals that he was part of and within which his talent got awakened.

All stories we collected

Peter: a while ago the housing cooperation wanted to demolish the houses here and put something else in place.
Can you believe it!?
You see here all the houses with all there little characteristics, like all these different roofs and small details.

Mowena: was there a petition?

Peter: the citizens revolted against it and they won. There was a woman, she sadly died. We are going to make something to honor her in the fall at the lake. She eventually cane to the minister and that led to this neighborhood being declared as a protected neighborhood.

We also think it is important to add the information about the background of the artist in the monument itself as well.
The most people who long to have the statue back do not know about his past and strong believes.
We are still working on how best to show this, should it be one of the first stories? Or a seperate pop up perhaps?