Anne Diestelkamp
cultural programmer, artistic researcher/ editor and translator
In the middle of winter, at the turning of the calendar year, we will gather at @thegardenabovetheschool to read together from Soils Turn – A Field Guide to Artistic Earthly Engagements. Edited by Alexandra R. Toland and Patricia L. Watts and published in late 2025, Soils Turn brings together stories and practices that work with soil—its materials, histories, places, and living communities. The collective reading will take us through the event and through the garden: In the middle of winter rest, we will work on the community compost, tending the soil and preparing it for spring. Come read, garden, and share a cup of herbal tea with us!
Please wear warm layers and feel free to bring a hot water bottle!
Texts will be provided on site—no preparation needed. Attendance is free.
Please sign up here.
📍Rooftop garden of the Dance Academy: Jodenbreestraat 3, 1011 NG Amsterdam
📅 January 23
🕓️ 17:00–19:00
🗣️The event will be in English.
On January 25th, we invite you to gather at the garden of I Can Change the World With My Two Hands to delve into the depths of darkness together. In darkness, we lose sight—the sense we most rely on to feel oriented and safe. Darkness is often framed as something to fear, associated with uncertainty and suffering. And yet, it is in darkness that life begins and wisdom takes root: in the womb, in the soil, and in dreams. In this workshop, we invite you to gather in darkness—to sense it, reflect on it, and stay with it. The afternoon begins with researcher Chen Zhou, who will share ancient knowledge from Traditional Chinese Medicine on winter practices, including the nourishment of life through black foods and the conservation of yin energy. We will read about darkness together and eat darkness together, sharing black and root foods as a sensory practice. In the second part of the workshop, researcher Anne Diestelkamp will share some of her early research into the nocturnal garden and invite you on a tour of the garden in the dark. Together, we will explore how perception shifts and how senses and worlds become reversed as the garden moves from day into night.
Attending the event is free. Please sign up here.
📍Jasper Leijnsenstraat 21
📅 Sunday, January 25
🕓️16:00–18:00
💧The event will also take place in the case of rain.