“‘Moving along’ means a break with the approach to flood protection that has been used in the Netherlands in the past century. To make this strategy (again) acceptable, a convincing story is needed. A story that on the one hand places the strategy in a historical perspective and on the other hand shows the innovative character of this strategy, including the pioneering role of the Netherlands in this area in the world.”
— KNMI, Hybride Meebewegen Strategie, 2023
— KNMI, Hybride Meebewegen Strategie, 2023
This project is an embodied, site-responsive artistic exploration of what it means to learn to live with water rather than against it. Focusing on the Wadden Sea and the Northern Coastal zones, I aim to uncover the intricate relationships between shifting ecologies, layered histories, and speculative futures. At its core, this work is a meditation on belonging, not as something inherited or fixed, but as an adaptive, evolving quality rooted in responsiveness and care. It is also a call to rewet the mind: to shift from linear, human-centered narratives toward plural, fluid, ecologically entangled ways of sensing and knowing.
Grounded in the Dutch concept of Meebewegen (to move along with), the project engages with the dynamics of the North & Wadden Sea through a hybrid methodology. Through participatory system mapping, local residents, conservationists, and creative practitioners will be invited to trace their ties to water, soil, sediment, and weather mapping emotional memory, rituals, and intergenerational knowledge.
still from Meebewegen Human.
The film—Meebewegen Human—will be co-shaped by these participatory processes. Blending poetic performance, documentary elements, and speculative fiction, the film offers a porous narrative guided by the tide and the oyster’s view. Filmed across multiple sites and seasons, it will grow from real encounters, co-created rituals, and the physical presence of those who live with the sea.
Alongside the film, The Handbook of Living Among Waters 2072 will emerge as a participatory publication—part guidebook, part collective dreaming tool. This living document will gather speculative rituals, adaptive recipes, tidal myths, ecological insights, and situated knowledges contributed by islanders, artists, and non-human collaborators. Designed to evolve with the project, it will reflect the many ways in which humans might come to inhabit rising waters—not with fear, but with fluidity.
Together, these outcomes aim to stir a broader cultural dialogue around Meebewegen—as an ecological ethic, an embodied practice, and a future-forming language for life in changing coastal zones.
OPEN CALL: Performative Film Participation
“Principles for Living Among Waters”
Directed by Samantha Pellarini
Directed by Samantha Pellarini
Are you curious about intertidal life, embodiment, and deep connection with watery landscapes?
We are looking for 4 participants to take part in a poetic performance & ritual-based film that explores how we live in Rhizoaquatic resonance. This is a collaborative and sensory experience of becoming-with mud, seaweed, each other, and the elements.
We are looking for 4 participants to take part in a poetic performance & ritual-based film that explores how we live in Rhizoaquatic resonance. This is a collaborative and sensory experience of becoming-with mud, seaweed, each other, and the elements.
Filming dates: 2–3 August 2025
Location: Island in the Northern coast of the Netherlands (exact site shared upon confirmation)
This is a non-paid opportunity. However, travel and accommodation will be covered.
Participation involves physical movement, working closely with others (including body contact), and interaction with natural materials like algae, moss, cold water, and mud.
Location: Island in the Northern coast of the Netherlands (exact site shared upon confirmation)
This is a non-paid opportunity. However, travel and accommodation will be covered.
Participation involves physical movement, working closely with others (including body contact), and interaction with natural materials like algae, moss, cold water, and mud.
Thank you!
The project is being developed through support from the Stichting Stokroos Seed Grant.
