In Concentric Spheres, an art commission for which Stichting Groot Deunk invited Louise te Poele to create a new work for the former asylum‑seekers’ centre site at Groot Deunk, Louise worked in a participatory process with new Dutch residents and status holders, alongside local residents and students. Each participant created a personal still life in which a glass sphere was mandatory: it served as the vessel into which their dream was, as it were, radiated. These spheres became the foundation of the final artwork, a spatial installation in which the individual dream‑objects come together. The glass spheres refer both to the participants’ dreams and to the geological layers of time embedded in the landscape of Groot Deunk. In this way, Concentric Spheres became a layered encounter between personal stories, collective history, and the natural environment of the site.

Thank you for your participation: the students of the newcomers’ class at the Graafschap College, the pupils of the C.S. primary school in Barlo, the clients of Sius Lichtenvoorde, and all participants who joined through the open call.

Thank you to all the workshop mentors: Betty Ramaker, Edith Huis in 't Veld, Roos Smit & Maria Kemkens

And thank you to the National Onderduik Museum for hosting our workshops, with a special thank you to Gerda Brethouwer.

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