Dimitri van den Wittenboer

Bio

Dimitri van den Wittenboer is an artist and researcher originally from Germany with Russian migration background currently based in Amsterdam. He has graduated from the Royal Academy of the Arts in The Hague (2019) with the specialisation in the participatory aspects of performance art. In the context of his artistic research MA program Performing Public Space (2020 - 2021) at the University for Fine and Performing Arts in Tilburg, he has addressed the question of ‘public life’ by practicing various ways to engage with passers-by in urban spaces in Amsterdam. The research generated a series of performances and workshops in public space dealing with the topic of encounters with passers-by: About You (2020), Relevant Stories (2020), Meet my Friend (2020). In 2021 the performative workshop Hello Stranger was presented at the We Are Here Festival at Gessneralle, Zurich (2021) and was part of the We Are Public Program in Amsterdam.

In 2021 Dimitri van den Wittenboer has received the Balconescenes Fund of Fonds Podium Kunsten, Netherlands for a participatory co-creation project Fireplace (2021) that employs the artistic tools of storytelling and singing to create reflective moments with passers-by in public space. The project was developed collectively with Maria Magdalena Kozłowska, Noah Voelker and Pankaj Tiwari.

Since 2020 Dimitri van den Wittenboer collaborates with the theatre maker Pankaj Tiwari with whom he explores the intersection of fine arts and theatre in participatory art practice. 

Their recent participatory project Neighbourhood of Commoning (2021) was developed in the context of the About Us! – Festival Zurich. The neighborhood project questioned the concept of private property by inviting citizens to open their private spaces for collective public activities.

In 2021 van den Wittenboer co-founded the international collective ‘Urge’ with four graduates from the MA program ‘Performing Public Space’: Anne Decker (DE), Ellie Bryce (BL), Rita Carmo Martins (PT) and Vittorio Campanella (IT). The collective explores artistic co-creation and focuses on the practice-led research of public space in different countries. Their long-term research project Nest addresses pubic life in the cities of their origin. 

Artist Statement 

I my work am interested in two main topics: public space as a realm of social gathering and a site for political action, and interactions among strangers as an encounter of differences. I explore these interests artistically through participatory performances and workshops in public space that challenge the established socio-political habits and invite participants to try alternatives. To develop my ideas, I look into theoretical concepts such as “Commoning” by Hardt and Negri and translate them into practices in public space. I am interested in passers-by and citizens of a neighbourhood as my audience and collaborators to make art accessible to a wide range of people. My goal is to invite people to imagine and practice together alternative ways of public life. I believe that Art is a space in that such explorations can happen.