Stimuleringsfonds

In Zeeland, opportunities for young people to engage with art and design outside school are few and far between. Makers Janne van Gilst and Gino Anthonisse are determined to change that. At their farm, Catharina Maria Hof, in the Onrustpolder, they have developed (On)rust in de polder: a programme in which professional designers work alongside young people, drawing on the materials and landscape that surround them. The project received support through the Open Call Platforms for Design-based Learning from the Creative Industries Fund NL and the Cultural Participation Fund. The call is open until 23 September 2026 at 16:00 CEST.

11 June 2026

Janne and Gino both grew up in Zeeland and returned to Janne's family farm in 2022. What began as a traditional arable farm has since grown to include a small campsite, a care farm and a growing creative programme. 'As children, we had very little contact with art and design, and that was something we really missed,' they explain. 'We arrived at art school at a disadvantage because of it. We want the next generation to have a better start.'

Materials on the doorstep

The farm is both the setting and the inspiration for the programme. From April to October 2026, young people take part in workshops with professional makers, each one drawing directly on the farm and its surroundings as a starting point. The first sessions have already taken place. Design studio la-di-da introduced participants to loam and straw construction as part of the sustainable renovation of the old farm barn. After an introduction to bioregional materials and carbon storage, participants rolled up their sleeves: stamping, stacking and plastering walls from straw, loam, lime and sand. Other workshops see young people designing a new educational landscape garden on the former sheep pasture with landscape architect Marit Janse; mapping the farm's edible and medicinal plants with photographer Sabine Rovers and turning them into prints; and creating a temporary landscape artwork about the history of the polder with visual artist Giuseppe Licari.

Throughout it all, the focus is on working with materials found right on the farm. 'What we want participants to take away goes well beyond technical skills,' say Janne and Gino. 'We want them to look at their own surroundings differently.' Themes such as climate change, the energy transition and food production weave naturally through the programme.

Building something together

What makes (On)rust in de polder distinctive is that participants do not just learn, they help shape the farm's future. The outcomes of the workshops with Marit Janse genuinely feed into the final design of the landscape garden, and Foodcurators develops recipes using local vegetables with young people for a community dinner. 'We are building the future of this place together with our participants and making them part of our community,' say Janne and Gino.

That connection to the local community matters. In Zeeland, there are very few places outside school that offer cultural education specifically focused on both art and design. Catharina Maria Hof fills that gap, reaching schoolchildren, students, young campers, emerging makers and local entrepreneurs.

In the past, the farm was a natural part of community life,' say Janne and Gino. 'Mechanisation has pushed that role into the background. We want to bring that sense of community back, in a new way, with art and design as the connecting force.'

The programme (On)rust in de polder was made possible in part by the Open Call Platforms for Design-based Learning from the Creative Industries Fund NL and the Cultural Participation Fund. The call supports programmes that encourage children and young people to develop design skills. Applications can be submitted from 9 June 2026 at 15:00 CEST until 23 September 2026 at 16:00 CEST.