Maas Lab is a collaboration between the Meuse River, SoAP Maastricht, and TAAT. Maas Lab is convinced that the survival of the human species requires a structural change in the way we live together. Maas Lab was born out of a shared curiosity about how an actual partnership with a river could change our human way of looking at entities and complex systems in general. Maas Lab is a nomadic laboratory that is physically connected to the Meuse, where the (artistic) research primarily takes place in, on, or along the river. Maas Lab explores new strategies for communication, organisation, and co-creation. Through residencies, gatherings and artistic interventions that focus on interaction with the Meuse River, Maas Lab invites creatives, fishermen, dog walkers, scientists, farmers, students, neighbours and others to explore regenerative and reciprocal ways of ‘being with’ the river ecosystem. The experiential and embodied interaction with the Meuse is at the heart of Maas Lab.
The Maaswacht is an open invitation to anyone interested to spend 2 to 7 days with the river in the cozy Maaswacht-appartement in Borgharen, Maastricht. From the 1st of October 2023 until the 1st of October 2024, someone was ‘on Maaswacht’ every day. And the project is still running. Maas Lab has a main focus on the river Meuse, especially in Dutch Limburg, but also explores connections with sister rivers like the Munzur in Turkish Kurdistan and the Zenne in Belgium. Maas Lab was first developed as part of the Innovatielabs#2, organised by the Creative Industry Fund and CLICKNL, and commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Maas Lab receives funding from Dutch Performing Arts, the Province of Limburg and city of Maastricht.
