The map as a research tool

You will need a ticket for the exhibition, which you can get here.

We are constantly creating maps—of landscapes, neighborhoods, buildings, societies, policy issues, and the complex relationships that shape our living environment. But what kind of maps are we actually creating?  

In this lecture, Dr. Marlies Vermeulen will show how maps are much more than a means of describing a place. They are a way to explore, reveal connections, and facilitate new conversations.

Through her artistic research practice and her dissertation on cartopology, she explores how mapmaking can contribute to a deeper understanding of social and spatial issues. 

It’s a cliché that no single map can fully capture reality. That is precisely why we need a multitude of maps: different perspectives, narratives, and ways of seeing that complement and challenge one another. The focus is not on the map as a final product, but on the process of mapping and the insights that emerge from it. 

Through projects with government agencies, cultural institutions, and researchers, Vermeulen demonstrates how cartopological maps function at the intersection of art and science. The lecture invites us to look at maps and the process of mapmaking in a different way: not as representations of reality, but as performative tools that help shape how we understand our environment, how we make decisions, and how we can imagine a different future.

Admission to the event is free. Registration for this lecture is not mandatory but advisable due to limited capacity.
The language of the event is Dutch.

Program

12:00 | Walk-in

12:30 | Start lecture Marlies Vermeulen (Institute of Cartopology)

13:30 | End of lecture

This program is a lecture of the Rotterdamse Academie van Bouwkunst.