28 June – 22 August 2025
OpenArtExchange, Hoogstraat 85, Schiedam
Group Exhibition
OpenArtExchange presents House of the Future I – Shaping Grounds, featuring seven contemporary artists whose practices explore technology, identity, community, and the future of urban life. The exhibition opens on Saturday, 28 June at 3 PM and marks the start of the gallery’s summer program celebrating Schiedam’s 750th anniversary.
"In this first chapter of House of the Future, we invite visitors to imagine how tomorrow’s cities might emerge when culture, community and nature are allowed to shape the ground we stand on.."
About the exhibition
This exhibition marks the first chapter of House of the Future, OpenArtExchange’s summer program celebrating Schiedam’s 750th anniversary. For the occasion, the gallery transforms its ground floor into a dynamic meeting space for art, music, debates, workshops, and performances, inviting audiences to reflect on the foundations of the city of the future—its connection to nature, cultural diversity, spiritual connections, and the tensions between heritage and modernity.
In Shaping Grounds, OpenArtExchange brings together seven contemporary artists—Jeffrey Burger (Netherlands), Demba Camara (Ivory Coast), Benjamin Deguenon (Benin), Serge Diama (DRC), Thiemoko Diarra (Mali–Belgium), Frigg Toss (Benin), and Mounou Désiré Koffi (Ivory Coast)—to reflect on the themes of space and the future.
The exhibition explores visions of the urban world of tomorrow. Shaping Grounds invites us to consider the shaping of our future cities: how do we house ten billion people sustainably, how do we design neighbourhoods that solve or mitigate deep environmental and social challenges, and how do we create inclusive spaces connected with nature?
Each artist offers a personal interpretation of these questions, expressed through a wide diversity of media, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds.
Participating artists
Jeffrey Burger (1971)
Netherlands
A visual artist based in Schiedam, Burger explores themes of singularity, transhumanism, and human evolution within a tech-dominated world. For this show, he has created a mural imagining the city of the future.
Benjamin Deguenon (1982)
Benin
A multidisciplinary artist whose mythological urban worlds are populated with hybrid creatures—beaked, clawed, or winged. His work explores the interplay between humans, nature, and spirituality.
Demba Camara (1970)
Ivory Coast
A sculptor known for wooden robots and spacecrafts that blend African tradition with retro-futurism. Using recycled materials and symbolic motifs, Camara crafts hybrid forms that question the relationship between technology and heritage.
Serge Diama (1988)
DRC
Based in Kinshasa, Diama works with painting, collage, installation, and performance. His new series visualizes the connection between body and nature, using symbolic forms and everyday materials to create layered compositions.
Thiemoko Diarra (1974)
Mali / Belgium
Diarra’s work reflects his bicultural heritage and fuses science with tradition. His tapestries —made with earth pigments and hybrid organic forms—examine identity, metamorphosis, and cultural exchange.
Mounou Désiré Koffi (1994)
Ivory Coast
Koffi uses discarded components from mobile telephones, such as keyboards, to craft intricate urban landscapes and portraits. His work raises questions about technological waste, consumerism, and environmental impact.
Frigg Toss (1997)
Benin
Toss is a multidisciplinary artist blending painting and digital tools. His vibrant, graphic visuals probe the intersection of technology and tradition, engaging with societal issues in a playful yet thought-provoking way
Works on view
Selected artworks from the exhibition.
Practical information
Venue: OpenArtExchange, Hoogstraat 85, 3111 HC Schiedam
Dates: 28 June – 22 August 2025
Opening: Saturday, 28 June at 3 PM
Works will also be viewable online and on Artsy, with a dedicated viewing room.