Illustration from the first edition of Uitwaaien magazine The first edition of Uitwaaien, Wageningen’s new art and culture magazine, comes out today. The magazine is the brainchild and creation of a group of students. Editor-in-chief Fernando Gabriel tells us about the first edition.
Wageningen artists were invited to send in work from April, and there were an impressive 80 submissions, which have been spread over 64 pages. ‘It turns out that Wageningen has a lot of artists,’ Gabriel says. ‘Everyone we asked directed us to even more artists. We managed to get most of the submissions into the magazine. We wanted work from amateurs as well as professionals. Because if you draw a picture and you’re pleased with it, why not share it?’
The submissions range from drawings to paintings, poems, short stories, and sculptures. This edition has no theme, but there were some recurrent story lines. ‘It is nice to find themes linking one person’s poem with another person’s painting – the common ground of the human condition,’ Gabriel says.
Bridge
The main goal of the magazine is to create a bridge between the university and the city through art. ‘A life science university can benefit a lot from art. Through the magazine, we can show the university and municipality that there are lots of artists and art lovers in Wageningen. That’s a good start towards something bigger,’ Gabriel says.
Uitwaaien gets its funding from both the municipality and the university. For this first edition, 1000 English and 1000 Dutch copies have been printed. The aim is to publish two issues per year. A lot of student artists have already been contacted, but the editors are still looking for more local artists to be featured in the next edition, with the theme of Silence.
More diverse
The editors also want to set up an advisory board. ‘We want to represent everyone in Wageningen,’ Gabriel explains. ‘For the next edition I hope we can be more diverse. Maybe we’ll expand, to Bennekom or the whole of Gelderland. That is the ambition – I see potential.’
Uitwaaien magazine is free and can be picked up on campus and at cultural hubs around the town (such as the town library and Het Depot art gallery). The editors are keen to hear from interested artists, who are welcome to contact them at uitwaaien.magazine@gmail.com or through @uitwaaienmag on Instagram.
