The pond in the middle of the field is where the clay was extracted to form the bricks. The bricks were dried in the field and fired there using wood from the trees surrounding the field. With these bricks the farm was built.
Underground is an interdisciplinary non-profit organisation located on a historic farm in Flemish Brabant, Belgium, where agriculture and food, art, education, and ecology come together. Underground views the farm, dating from 1866, as a sculpture. This sculpture is not just an object, made of clay—a house and barns—but also a social sculpture that you are part of as well. It is an ecology of a (built) environment, people, animals, and plants.
“This sculpture is not an object to be looked at, to be consumed; one becomes part of it.”
At a time when we are rethinking positions of power and seeking to shape and build new models of society, Underground focuses on our relationship with food and with life and work on the farm. For Underground, food is at the core of everything. The way we engage with food reveals how we relate to ourselves and the Other. Food affects us all and connects us all.
The working farm is an unpolished place where hands-on experience is combined with in-depth theoretical knowledge of organic farming. It is a place with a history in which several generations have lived and worked together, and to which many people and economic activities are connected.
“If you assume that everything is interconnected, it becomes impossible to look at and work from a single discipline.”
Underground views the farm as a place where sustainable creative processes are sown, where they can grow, be nurtured, and harvested; where narrative structures between different generations and sectors are made visible.
Underground collaborates with partners from the arts, socio-cultural organisations, agriculture, healthcare, research, and education. Underground encourages a curious and exploratory open attitude, paying attention to what we see, hear, taste, feel, and smell.
Public activities
Underground organises various activities such as workshops, lectures, and performances, for all ages. The number of places depends on the season and the specific location where the activity takes place. At every activity, you can join for lunch or dinner, prepared with fresh organically grown vegetables from Boer Maarten.
Projects
Underground develops and organises a variety of projects, ranging from short-term to multi-year research initiatives. These projects are always carried out in collaboration with different partners. Projects can also be initiated by a partner, artist, or researcher who wishes to collaborate with the farm.
Residencies
Underground welcomes people from different disciplines and sectors to connect their (artistic) practice with the farm during a temporary live-work residency. We welcome artists, designers, anthropologists, sociologists, chefs…
Underground projects received support from the Flemish Community, Flemish-Dutch house deBuren and the Flemish Community Commission. Underground is rooted on the farm of Boer Maarten and is led by Sara ten Westenend. Board members of the non-profit organisation Underground are Loes Jacobs and Jan Wyckaert. The website was created and hosted by Elton Eerkens.
Underground collaborated with:
boermaarten.com
nadine.be
blog-archkuleuven.be
delandgenoten.be
voedsel-anders.be
gasap.be
cagnet.be
common-room.net
lov2030.be
mleuven.be
viernulvier.gent
lasemaineduson.be
lavallee.brussels
corso.be
blackbirdcultur-lab.com
