Synthetic Woods

Dirk Lentz works as a freelance motion designer and, as an artist, plays with moving images and explores how they can tell stories. A fascination with clouds and the swirling patterns that form before a storm breaks is a particular source of inspiration. Through time-lapses, the artist captures the changing movements of the sky, thus making the dynamics of nature visible. Drawing on a background in Image and Media Technology, he combines technical knowledge with a curious, experimental perspective on image and movement.

Aart Strootman (1987) is a composer, guitarist, and pioneer who is knocking firmly on the door of contemporary music life. His intellect and his open, fresh perspective on musical genres and styles justify a prominent position in the music scene. He has won, among others, the Gaudeamus Composition Prize (2017) and the most important composition prize in the Netherlands, the Matthijs Vermeulen Prize (2019). As a composer and performer, he collaborates with diverse ensembles and musicians. Strootman also develops self-built instruments; in intensive collaboration with composers or based on in-depth research.

Five musicians, five instruments, endless soundscapes. City ensemble Black Pencil is versatile, featuring a unique instrumentation of recorder, pan flute, viola, accordion, and percussion. The musicians move effortlessly between early music and new compositions. Since their founding in 2010, over 500 new works have been written for the ensemble. For Black Pencil, music knows no boundaries: it collaborates with creators from theatre, dance, visual arts, and light arts, and produces music theatre, family shows, and unique site-specific productions. Black Pencil performs concerts both domestically and internationally. Since 2021, the Almere-based ensemble has received structural support from the Performing Arts Fund, the Municipality of Almere, and the Province of Flevoland. Black Pencil Ensemble consists of Jorge Isaac (recorder), Matthijs Koene (pan flute), Esra Pehlivanli (viola), Marko Kassl (accordion), and Enric Monfort (percussion).