How to Be A Good Neighbour – A Workshop in Walking Underground

As we walk upon the pavement, the grass, the gravel, do the sound of our footsteps wake our snoozing underground neighbours? Is the hard paved road and neatly trimmed grass obstructing their plans for construction and renovation? Can we look closer to uncover windows and peep into their homes? If our floor is their ceiling, is it possible to learn how to be a good neighbour to our downstairs residents?

This workshop, led by Rebecca Douglass and Lucienne Walstra, will tune into the underground networks of Amstelpark, using walking, sensory explorations and ambulatory discussions to stretch the imagination and connect with our next-door kin. To practice being good neighbours, we will investigate sites where the underground penetrates the surface, be that through cracks, crevices or holes, shaking the binary barrier between below and above. We will tap into our imagination to envision the scope of life, motion and vitality that exists beneath our feet. Come and join us for some bi-pedial speculative thinking as we collectively reveal the mystery of underground networks and more-than-human kinships.

All through a simple walk in the Amstelpark…