They invented a new machine
Peg and awl
They invented a new machine
Prettiest thing I ever seen
Pegs a hundred pair to my one
Peg and awl
Pegs a hundred pair to my one
Peggin' shoes it ain't no fun

Peg and Awl is a song written in the late 1800's describing a shoemaker who is run out of business by a machine. The song lyrics, when considered more than a century later, demonstrate the uncanny similarity between the problematics of early industrialized labour and our current socio-political circumstances in relation to automation technologies.

In Songs for Hard Working People, one of the five proposals selected through the Open Call for the Extended Program of the Dutch Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2018, Noam Toran proposes a historical bridging by producing contemporary adaptations of early twentieth-century work and labour songs. Responding to the theme of the Dutch pavilion, each of the five projects selected through the Call provide a unique focus on one or more of the embodied, ethical, and spatial dimensions of labour, and will be presented as part of the public programme, in Venice and at other locations. On 26 April, the teams will introduce their projects at Het Nieuwe Instituut and engage in a conversation. The evening will be introduced by Het Nieuwe Instituut and Creative Industries Fund NL.

Read more about WORK, BODY, LEISURE, the Dutch contribution to the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.

Open Call

Het Nieuwe Instituut and Creative Industries Fund NL jointly organized an Open Call to support designers and advance knowledge in the field of architecture before, during and after the Venice Architecture Biennale, as part of the extended programme of WORK, BODY, LEISURE. The selection committee recognized and awarded five projects: The Institute of Patent Infringement by Matthew Stewart and Jane Chew, The Port and the Fall of Icarus by the Northscapes Collective (Hamed Khosravi, Taneha K. Bacchin and Filippo laFleur), Songs for Hard Working People by a multidisciplinary team lead by Noam Toran, Shore Leaves by Giuditta Vendrame, Paolo Patelli and Giulio Squillacciotti and Renderlands: Installation by Liam Young.

Read more about the Open Call and the selected proposals in the Jury Report.

Thursday Bite

Before the Thursday Night why not grab a bite to eat with the speakers and staff of Het Nieuwe Instituut? From 18:00 Het Nieuwe Café will serve soup with bread or a quiche with salad. Dinner vouchers are available for €7.50 up to a day before the particular Thursday Night event via the Tickets link or at the bar this evening.