Lectures, exhibitions & events.
Frequently we present our vision on the interweaving of art, literature, research and nature preservation. We initiate exhibitions, lectures, workshops, concerts and guided tours around Knockvologan. Throughout the year we lecture at Art Academies, Universities and perform at various other institutes and festivals. If you are interested in inviting us for a lecture, a brainstorm, a workshop or you wish to discuss the possibilities, then feel free to contact us.
2024
29.08.2024 - 01.09.2024 following the tide
Verstrengeld
Into the Great Wide Open festival
Vlieland | The Netherlands
a multi voiced exhibition with Wouter Engelbart, ellen schoenmakers, Johanna Weggelaar, Herman van den Muijsenberg en Miek Zwamborn
16.05.2024 | 15-18 CET
New Rituals for the Multispecies Community
Symposium, University of Amsterdam, online
Ike Kamphof: Shapes of a Multispecies Lifeworld. Engaging with Amphibian Migrations
Eva Meijer: Organising Dog Dinners with Dogs
Miek Zwamborn: Tidal Genesis. Honouring Seaweed by Coastal Communities
Animals and plants are not things but active agents who have their own interests, desires and projects in life. Their voices, agency and expressions have long been silenced by humans, and human ideas about them are often shaped by prejudice and ignorance. Moving beyond anthropocentrism in culture and politics therefore requires not only critique of existing power relations, but also new ways of engaging with nonhuman agents. Finding new forms of communication and building relations also matters with regard to taking seriously the voices of human children and youth, and adult humans who express themselves in ways that differ from the norm. In these online workshops we explore the role of rituals in working towards new, more just and caring multispecies forms of community. Rituals often center embodied acts, instead of rational forms of human speech. They are also often habitual, and involve using the imagination. For these and other reasons, rituals well suited to acknowledge and include the agency and subjectivity of nonhumans, human children, and certain neurodiverse humans. In the workshop we focus both on the creation of new rituals and reinterpreting existing rituals, from the perspective of art, activism, philosophy and theatre.
3.05.2024 | 15:00 - 19:30
Kelvin Hall | 1445 Argyle Street | Glasgow | G3 8AW
The Trembling Museum
The Trembling Museum, co-curated with filmmaker and Professor Manthia Diawara and art historian and curator Dr Terri Geis, explores new relations between the African art objects in the Hunterian collection and contemporary art. This event invites contemporary practitioners to offer a range of new perspectives on the exhibition, and on the ideas of Martinican poet-thinker Édouard Glissant which are central to it. Glissant's concepts of 'relation', 'opacity' and 'trembling', developed through his own diasporic perspective on the modern world, have been influential in many contexts and across many forms of creative work. In this event, artists, poets, theatre-makers and creative writers will take The Trembling Museum as a point of departure for presentations, dialogues and new creative responses.
Contributors include: Tawona Sithole, Graham Eatough & Miek Zwamborn; Leo Robinson; Vanessa Onwuemezi and Jelena Sofronijevic .
23.03.2024 | 16:00
Zitternde Zungen
Artist Talk with Andres Kempe, Rutger Emmekamp and Miek Zwamborn moderated by Christiane Mennicke-Schwarz
Galerie Ursula Walter | Dresden | Germany
2023
22.10.2023 | 6pm – 7pm
Artist Talk: Photographer Tom Rankin
An Tobar | Tobermory
Join American photographer Tom Rankin for an informal conversation at An Tobar, where he'll speak about his practice, his Mull piping roots, and the work he’s been developing on Mull with KNOCKvologan.
Tom Rankin is a photographic (sometimes film) artist based in North Carolina in the US where he teaches and directs the MFA Program in Experimental and Documentary Arts at Duke University. He photographs primarily with a 8 x 10 view camera, mostly but not exclusively in black and white. One of Tom’s ancestors initiated the Rankin Piping school at Kilbreanan. During his residency Tom will focus on this family history, but also on visible intersections of traditional culture and the natural world, farming and fishing, water and land use.
22.10.2023 | 7.30 - 9.30pm
Quavering Tongues: Closing Conversations
An Tobar | Tobermory (booking essential, 20 spaces max)
Join us and An Tobar curators Rhona Dougall and Nina Pope for an informal evening of foraged food and nourishing conversation on the experience of the exhibition and the questions it raises.
09.09.2023 | 2pm - 3:30pm
Concert by saxofonist Flora Carbo
KNOCKvologan Barn
Flora Carbo is a saxophonist, composer and music leader from Naarm (Melbourne, Australia). Her unique practice creates novel musical environments that connect people through improvisation, composition and conceptual works, led by her explorations into the vocal qualities of the alto saxophone. Inspired by people, place and motion, Flora is developing a practice of composing, improvising, performing and being a community leader which is uniquely creative as it is diverse and varied.
Flora will be performing pieces she has been developing over the last few months travelling by bicycle in Europe and the UK as part of a 'Residency in Motion'. Presenting music in a solo capacity inspired by the unique environment and spaces on Mull will be a focus of her time spent at the KNOCKvologan Residency.
Sat 2 Sept, Sun 17 Sept, Sun 29 Oct | 10am-4pm
Quavering Tongues: Alongside Artists Days
An Tobar, Tobermory
Come into the gallery and spend time with us as we experiment with materials, enjoy The Reading Room and find out more about how our work will evolve when it moves back to Knockvologan. Drop in throughout the day – all welcome.
16.09.2023 | 2pm – 5pm
Seaweed Cyanotypes
by Juanita Schläpfer-Miller
An Tobar Art Room, Tobermory
Join Swiss artist Juanita Schläpfer-Miller to experiment with a cyanotype technique, using light to make a variety of images with seaweed. In this workshop you will prepare your own cyanotype paper and learn how to prepare seaweed and other plant specimens for creating cyanotypes.
Juanita Schläpfer-Miller is an artist, exhibition curator and outreach manager at the Plant Science Center in Switzerland. She has many years' experience designing learning exhibitions in the natural sciences and has developed workshops and experiments to engage people of all ages with plant science.
20.08.2023 | 29.10.2023 (opening at 19th August - 19:00pm)
Quavering Tongues - Teangannan air Crith
New work from KNOCKvologan Studio: Miek Zwamborn & Rutger Emmelkamp
with music by Rufus Isabel Elliot
at An Tobar in Tobermory on Isle of Mull
09.07.2023 | 2pm-5pm
Botanical Drawing Workshop
by Singaporean artist Jasmine Er
KNOCKvologan garden & Studio
04/11.03.2023 + 18/25.03.2023
Peat Restoration Project in Tireragan nature reserve
26.03.2023 | 11:00-13:00
Admitting the Possibilities Of Error
drawing workshop by Kirstin Lavers
KNOCKvologan Barn
26.03.2023 | 14:00-16:00
Admitting the Possibilities of Error - These Days
drawing performance by Kirstin Lavers
KNOCKvologan Barn
02.07.2023 | 14:00
Arandora Star Commemoration
Poetry event in memory of a sunken life boat with spoken word by the Ross Of Mull Poets and guest speakers.
Knockvologan Beach / KNOCKvologan Barn
2022
18.11.2022 | 20:00-22:00
opening Meet Me At The Lighthouse Literature Festival
Performances by Mariken Heitman, Koos Dijksterhuis, Huib Henrichs, Nina Polak, Sholeh Rezazadeh and Miek Zwamborn
De Stag | Schiermonnikoog | The Netherlands
19.11.2022 | 11:00-12:30
Schierse Leesclub
Close reading of a selection of Miek’s poems
Schiermonnikoog | The Netherlands
20.11.2022 | 9:30-11:00
Naar Buiten | Wier op Schier
Walk in search of seaweed with island’s forester Erik Jansen and Miek Zwamborn
De Kapel | Schiermonnikoog | The Netherlands
20.11.2022 | 11:00-13:00
Ode aan de verbeelding
Performances by Joost Oomen, Maarten Bronts, Gerard Beentjes, Michael ter Maat, Jaap Robben, Kaspar, Sholeh Rezazadeh and Miek Zwamborn
De Stag | Schiermonnikoog | The Netherlands
18.10.2022
Cello Solo Concert at KNOCKvologan Barn
German – British cellist Stefanie Waegner is known for her interpretation of the Suites for Solo Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach and for her improvisational and compositional work in which she incorporates various styles such as elements of Celtic, Tango and Klezmer music.
Educated at Music Colleges in the U.K. and Austria, Stefanie enjoys an international performing and teaching career in Europe, Asia and Latin America. She was professor for chamber music for many years at Mahidol College of Music in Bangkok, Thailand, and is currently based in Germany, where she performs extensively as a soloist and a member of various chamber music collectives.
02.10.2022
FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!
What has changed since COP26?
What needs to change now?
An afternoon of questions, exclamations, poetry, song and locally produced food to share.
With poetry contributions from Juliet Antill, Derek Crook, Seth Crook, Kelly-Ann Darragh, Mark Scholefield, Jan Sutch Pickard, Brian Thomas, Miek Zwamborn and music played by Jerry Akehurst (mandolin), Cameron Newell (fiddle), Tara Cunningham (fiddle), Dominic Blaikie (guitar), Polly Edwards (drum)
KNOCKvologan Barn
01.10.2022
Seaweed Mimicry
Drawing workshop with various local seaweeds as protagonists.
Camas | Ardfenaig | Mull
10.09.2022 | 10:00 - 11:00
Algenstunde | reading and drawing class
Strandübergang 12 | Ahrenshoop | Germany
09.09.2022 | 17:00
anmut ist eine frage der strömung | vernissage
The exhibition brings together washed-up finds: an artistic exploration of things found on the beach or on rocks, fished out of the waves or picked up from the shore. A panopticon of wonder composed of algae, driftwood and shale, in the midst of the social discourse on climate change curated by Dr. Katharina Knüppel and Martin Bruch. With Inka Dewitz, Ines Meier, Esther Kinsky, Andrea Guterres, Annegret Mayer-Lindenberg and Miek Zwamborn.
Neues Kunsthaus Ahrenshoop | Bernhard-Seitz-Weg 3 | Ahrenshoop | Germany
04.09.2022
Walking & Experimental Drawing Workshop
Join Dundee-based artist Calum Wallis for a walking and experimental drawing workshop exploring different ways of experiencing and moving through a landscape and creatively interpreting your surroundings. Part of the EBBE+FLOW exhibition in An Tobar, Tobermory.
KNOCKvologan Barn & beaches
02.09.2022 | 16:00
The Seaweed Gatherers | workshop and performance
This project forms part of the new University of Glasgow ArtsLab theme, Islands in the Global Age. It takes the Japanese Noh play, The Seaweed Gatherers (Mekari) as the basis for a contemporary exploration of seaweed, its cultural history and its potential as a performance material. The performance - initiated and directed by playwright Graham Eatough will present extracts from The Seaweed Collector’s Handbook alongside original composition by composer Daryl Jamieson performed live. The music will be played by Tilly Coultin (flute), Valerie Barr (accordion), and David Kerr (percussion).
James Arnott Theatre | Gilmorehill Halls | Glasgow
11.08.2022 | 21:00
Unbelievable Tales
A selection of narrative poems, written and read by Derek Crook.
KNOCKvologan Barn.
15.07.2022 | 10:00
West Cork Literary Festival
Performance and chat about The Seaweed Collector’s Handbook accompanied by translator Michele Hutchison.
Bantry House Tearooms | Bantry | Ireland
10.07.22-18.09.2022
Our Living Soil
Group exhibition curated by Zone2source with projects by masharu, Jasper Coppes & Esmee Geerken, Jacqueline Heerema, Kate Foster, Miek Zwamborn & Rutger Emmelkamp, De Onkruidenier, and Debra Solomon. Opening Our Living Soil on 10 July, 16 – 17hrs including a recitation of two poems by Miek.
het Glazen Huis | Amstelpark | Amsterdam
02.07.2022 | 14:00
Arandora Star Commemoration
Poetry event in memory of a sunken life boat with spoken word by the Ross Of Mull Poets, a lecture by professor of Italian language Derek Duncan and the launch of artwork made by Stephen Raw.
Knockvologan Beach / KNOCKvologan Barn
28.06.2022 | 20:00
And So We Gather
Sneak preview concert by award winning singer and composer Kim Carnie releasing her debut solo album at KNOCKvologan Barn. Tickets £ 10
10.06.2022 | 14:00 - 15:00
Neither Out nor In by artist and poet Fiona Templeton: a presentation about researching the traces and translations of the early 17th century oral poet Mairi Nighean Alasdair Ruaidh at KNOCKvologan Barn.
08.04.2022
Poets in the Forest: programme of spoken word performances, readings and conversations with Indonesian writer Afrizal Malna, Biko Mutsaurwa Chisavu from Zimbabwe, and writers and poets Gustaaf Peek, Asha Karami, Tonnus Oosterhoff, Tibah Abdel Aziz, Miek Zwamborn, K. Michel, Christina Flick, Mustafa Stitou and Frederik Willem Daem.
Jan van Eyck Academy | Maastricht | The Netherlands
07.04.2022
Symposium A New Language for the Landscape will hold contributions by Haags Museum director Benno Tempel, poets Idwer de la Parra and Frank Keizer, and artist-writer Miek Zwamborn, entwining art, literature and environmental awareness. The symposium is preceded by the launch of the new book by evolutionary biologist and writer Tijs Goldschmidt.
Jan van Eyck Academy | Maastricht | The Netherlands
26.03.2022 | 13:00 - 14:30
Glig Glig Glig, a concert based on Mullish sounds (birdsong, burling deer, place names, wind, words, water and rock) played by world leading representers of the creative music scene Ig Henneman (viola) & Ab Baars (tenorsax, clarinet and shakuhachi) and local poets Jan Sutch Pickard and Derek Crook. Doors open at 12:45. Tickets £ 7,50. KNOCKvologan Barn
10.03.2022
Wild Sci:Art: An annual meeting of marine scientists and artists with an interest in the sea to encourage collaboration hosted by the Scottish Association for Marine Science UHI (SAMS UHI) in collaboration with the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa. With Juliet Brodie (Natural History Museum), Anna Dumitriu, Jessica Giannotti (Crubag), Samuel Ilife (The Design Museum), Alice Sharp (Invisible Dust) and Miek Zwamborn.
Online
2021
08.12.2021
As the Tide Recedes
Lecture by Miek Zwamborn
Gerrit Rietveld Academy | Amsterdam | The Netherlands
05.12.2021
Shared Plates - wild cooking X
Experimental cooking with local foraged ingredients served at Knockvologan barn, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull. If you want to join in send us an email.
21-28.11.2021
Magical Octopus - the sequel
KNOCKvologan Barn | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
21.11.2021
Magical Octopus - the sequel - opening
Group show with works by visual artist Filip Andel, filmmaker Andy Crabb, poet Derek Crook, poet Seth Crook, composer Rufus Isabel Elliot, visual artist, printmaker & curator David Faithfull, visual artist & writer Fiona Glen, visual artist Katie Harris-Macleod, weaver Monica Haddock, visual artist Mhairi Killin, curator Naoko Mabon, visual artist & gardener Sue Murdoch, photographer Julia Parks, musician Giles Perring, poet & storyteller Jan Sutch Pickard, visual artist & writer Christina Riley, visual artist Brodie Sim and visual artist, poet & typographer Brian Thomas.
KNOCKvologan Barn | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
14.11.2021
Shared Plates - wild cooking IX
Experimental cooking with local foraged ingredients served at Knockvologan barn, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull. If you want to join in send us an email.
24.10.2021
Successional Horizons
Presentation by Eamonn Harnett
KNOCKvologan Barn | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
03.10.2021
Shared Plates - wild cooking VIII
Experimental cooking with local foraged ingredients served at Knockvologan barn, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull. If you want to join in send us an email.
19.09.2021
Swim Sonnets
Spoken word by Dutch poet in resident Emma Crebolder
KNOCKvologan Barn | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
10-12.09.2021
Binnenst
Group show with Marjolein Hessels, Rutger Emmelkamp, Arja Hop & Peter Svenson, Hieke Luik, Ingrid
Pasmans, Nanouk Prins, Jannemieke Versteegen, Tjallien Walma van der Molen & Miek Zwamborn
Hondecoeterstraat 22H | Amsterdam
12.09.2021
As the gemweed drifts - Miek Zwamborn
Lecture about seaweed as point of departure in art, literature, photography and film.
Isle Martin Seaweed Festival | Ullapool
10.09.2021
In Search of the Pluriverse
Presentation by Sophie Krier & Erik Wong
KNOCKvologan Barn | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
05.09.2021
Shared Plates - wild cooking VII
Experimental cooking with local foraged ingredients served at Knockvologan barn, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull. If you want to join in send us an email.
22.08.2021
Shared Plates - wild cooking VI
Experimental cooking with local foraged ingredients served at Knockvologan barn, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull. If you want to join in send us an email.
11/12.08.2021
Floating Worlds
Film shoot of a play by Graham Eatough and Andre Dekker.
Erraid Sound, Erraid/Knockvologan, Isle of Mull.
01.08.2021
Shared Plates - wild cooking V
Experimental cooking with local foraged ingredients served at Knockvologan barn, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull. If you want to join in send us an email.
25.07.2021
Fossil Fuel Mnemosyne
Presentation of artistic research on natural origins of oil production, focussing on the plankton-feeding Basking Shark inhabiting the waters around the Isle of Mull by visual artists in resident Miriam Sentler & writer Sadie Hale.
KNOCKvologan Barn | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
12.07.201
The Seaweed Collector’s Handbook
Reading together with translator Michele Hutchison via Zoom
West Cork Festival | Ireland
11.07.2021
Fish Skin Tanning
Workshop by artist Kari Furre. See Kari’s website. More information will follow soon.
KNOCKvologan Barn | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
10.07.2021
Shared Plates - wild cooking VI
Experimental cooking with local foraged ingredients served at Knockvologan barn, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull. If you want to join in send us an email.
04.07.2021
Arandora Star memorial
Poetry gathering around the sunken life boat hidden in the sand.
Knockvologan beach | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
27.06.2021
Shared Plates - wild cooking III
Experimental cooking with local foraged ingredients served at Knockvologan barn, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull. If you want to join in send us an email.
20.06.2021
Sensory Sea
Presentation by artist in resident Christina Riley
KNOCKvologan Barn | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
13.06.2021
Shared Plates - wild cooking II
Experimental cooking with local foraged ingredients served at Knockvologan barn, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull. If you want to join in send us an email.
06.06.2021
Nowhere - Now Here
Opening of our 2021 program
KNOCKvologan Barn | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
04.06.2021
Places to write - Miek Zwamborn
Talk via Zoom about site specific poetry during a seminar for writers from Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Sápmi who just released their first book. With Kajsa Sundin and Ida Linde.
Biskops Arnö | Bålsta | Sweden
30.05.2021
Shared Plates - wild cooking I
Experimental cooking with local foraged ingredients served at Knockvologan barn, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull. If you want to join in send us an email.
22.05.2021
Poets on the shore
Readings by the Ross Of Mull Poets at Fidden beach, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull.
With Shirley Blacoe, Derek Crook, Seth Crook, Alexandra James, Jan Sutch Pickard, Janet Schofield, Charley Streather, Brian Thomas and Miek Zwamborn
2020
01.12.2020 - 04.12.2020
Magical Octopus
Online Magical Riso expert meeting – launch of the collaborative book Magical Octopus
Jan van Eyck Academy | Maastricht | The Netherlands
20.11.2020
Who Inhabits the Wild – Pedestrians, Dreamers, the Lucky Ones?
On line Lecture during European Literature Days – More Wilderness!
With Fabio Andina from Lugano and moderator Rosie Goldsmith from London
Klangraum Minoritenkirche | Krems an der Donau | Austria
12.07.2020
Arandora Star
Poetry event in memory of the sunken life boat
Knockvologan Beach
03.05.2020 | cancelled
Swim Sonnets
Poetry performance by Emma Crebolder (poet in residence)
Knockvologan Barn | Fionnphort
17.05.2020 | cancelled
Coastal Sound Scape
Cello improvisation by Stefanie Waegner
Knockvologan Barn | Fionnphort
14.02 - 17.02.2020
Art & Research - Rutger Emmelkamp
with students of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and the University of Amsterdam
Wongema | Hornhuizen | The Netherlands
11.02 - 13.02.2020
Lecture + tutorials at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie - Rutger Emmelkamp
Amsterdam | The Netherlands
2019
09.11.2019
THE SEA. THE SEA, THE SEAAAAAA - Miek Zwamborn
Dutch poetry on the shore, a walking and writing experience together with Dutch poet Hagar Peeters
Poetry in Aldeburgh | Suffolk | United Kingdom
26.10.2019
Woordnacht - Miek Zwamborn
Dialogue with writer Kester Freriks and filmmaker Christiaan van Schermbeek about silence through objects, texts and images
Galery Cokkie Snoei | Rotterdam | The Netherlands
02.10.2019
How to register a landscape?
Open Studio & exhibition by artist in residence Marjolijn Boterenbrood
2 Knockvologan | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
27.09.2019
Vi ses vid världens ände - Miek Zwamborn
Book launch of De duimsprong, translated into Swedish by Per Holmer
Bokmässan | Göteborg | Sweden
22.9.2019
Behind the fence - Miek Zwamborn
Lecture about living, observing and writing during a Nature Writing seminar
Sulzbach-Rosenberg | Germany
14.09.2019
Showcase
Talk about how artists and commissioners are spearheading new thinking in the islands Emmelkamp and Spoken Word
St John’s Cathedral | Oban | Scotland
22.08.2019
Crossing Mull
Geopoetry by the Ross of Mull Poets
Creich Hall | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
18.08.2019
Open Studio
Work in progress by Maria Blaisse, Rutger Emmelkamp & Miek Zwamborn
2 Knockvologan | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
04.07.2019
Arandora Star
Book launch with Seth & Derek Crook, Miek Zwamborn and Ross Of Mull Poets
Knockvologan beach | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull
25.04.2019
The Ear of the Landscape - Miek Zwamborn
LUCA School of Arts | Bruxelles | Belgium
25-28.01.2019
Art & Research - Rutger Emmelkamp
Wongema | Hornhuizen | Netherlands
19.01.2019
Imagination of the void - Miek Zwamborn
ISVW | Leusden | Netherlands
2018
02.12.2018
A Sudden Perch
Ab Baars performs on clarinet, saxophone and shakuhachi and will improvise a duet with Miek.
Creich Hall | Fionnphort | Isle of Mull | Scotland
14.11.2018
Writing Art - Miek Zwamborn
KABK | Den Haag | Netherlands
30.08.2018-02.09.2018
Knockvologan Observatory
Work in progress and 1:1 talks during festival Into The Great Wide Open
Museum Tromp's Huys | Vlieland | Netherlands
05.05.2018
Land of angry waves
Lecture with slides and props during festival Here comes the summer.
Stortemelk | Vlieland | Netherlands
25.01.2018
Salon - Miek Zwamborn
With a lecture by Daniël Rovers, a performance by Ton Zwerver and music by Ig Henneman and Ab Baars
Huis De Pinto | Amsterdam | Netherlands
2017
20.12.2017
Oology
Book launch of Oology CNP III. With lectures by Hans Mulder, Ylja Nieuwland, Jeroen van Westen, Jan de Hond, music on the shakuhachi by Ab Baars and a drawing class by Bas Teunis.Artis Zoo Library | Amsterdam | Netherlands
17.12.2017
Meeting the Aleph - Miek Zwamborn
With Roos van den Eerenbeemt, Jasper Coppes, Phil Baber and Rosa Johanna
Studio 167 Loods 6 | Amsterdam | Netherlands
28.09.2017
Unsettled Perceptions
Lecture together with Richard van Diessen during Nederlands Film Festival
Stadschouwburg | Utrecht | Netherlands
02.05.2017
An Hour’s Walk - Miek Zwamborn
Lecture about observing the smallest movements on the Southern side of the Isle of Mull
ArtEZ Institute of the Arts | Arnhem | Netherlands