New for summer 2025, Middle Ground is an artist residency series based on a cargo bike. Its founder just launched an open call for applications. Interested in spending a month pedaling around the Netherlands and creating art? Find details here…

James Crossley, who we featured as part of Evan Christenson’s story on Platte Gang, a community-oriented riding group in Amsterdam, just launched a new project called Middle Ground, through which he seeks to support three fellow artists this year. Middle Ground is a roaming residency program that will provide artists with a specially equipped cargo bike for one month. Journeys will start in the Netherlands, and during the residency, artists are encouraged to pedal around and connect with people and places, creating an artistic action that engages directly with the communities they meet.

Middle Ground, Cargo Bike Artist Residency

Speaking to the program’s mission, James writes: “Its intention, as a roaming art residency, is to connect and reclaim in a society where binary politics and geographies are cut through by anger, fear, and motorways. Today it is taboo to look for ways to compromise with ‘the other side’ rather than finding solidarity with all people. But sometimes, all it can take is to ride a bike somewhere and talk to someone new to realise that we’re not so different, and often, we want the same things… Middle Ground uses the cargo bike to melt these boundaries. When someone shows up in a small village on a strange giant bike, even if they look suspicious, they’re going to elicit some kind of mutual connection with local people.”

Applications are open through April 14, 2025. You can find full details, support the project with a donation, and learn how to apply over at Middle Ground.

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