AKWAGLOT

To celebrate 385 years of science in Utrecht, a floating sustainable artwork arose in Utrecht's Catharijnesingel in 2021. On and around this platform, Utrecht University, UMC Utrecht and various partners organised all kinds of activities. After the lustrum, AKWAGLOT has moved to a new location: the Evolution Garden in the Botanic Gardens.

Watch the construction of the floating sustainable artwork

The Artists

AKWAGLOT is a creation of DE JENZ: a collaboration between artists Vibeke Jensen and Santiago De Waele. The duo met in 2014 when Jensen was invited to create a public art project for the Triennial Bruges, of which De Waele is technical director

Read more about the artists
Scaled Model of AKWAGLOT

The artwork floats, brings together many tongues and ways of speaking.

The name

Vibeke Jensen and Santiago De Waele named the artwork AKWAGLOT:

"AKWAGLOT combines the pronunciation of aqua - water and its qualities of flow and movement, adaptability to the environment and sensitivity; with -glot a Greek word for tongue that refers to 'having a tongue', 'speaking, writing or being written in a language'. The artwork floats, brings together many tongues and ways of speaking. It is a university without walls - open to the whole community."

The platform is a place for meeting and dialogue, and what better way to do that than with a podcast featuring scientists, students, residents, and organizations in the city of Utrecht? The aim of the Glotcast was to connect science with the city, by starting conversations between Utrecht University, Utrecht University Medical Centre and the city in an accessible way. With verve, hosts Marij Swinkels, Simone Arnolds, Vincent Tijseling and Mik Collet engaged in conversation with scientists from various disciplines and 'random' passersby.

Listen to all episodes on Soundcloud or Spotify.