NSJ x Fenix
On the central square in the Hudson Hall, an artwork from the collection of Fenix, the new migration museum in Rotterdam, is on display this year: the famous Hotel Europe by artist Harald Vlugt.
Four large tables together form a meters-long map of Europe. If you look at the work up close, you see that the map consists of hundreds of envelopes.
In 1997, Vlugt sent 715 letters from his studio to cities throughout Europe, addressed to: H. Vlugt, Hotel Europe. A massive logistical operation. The sent envelopes traveled one million kilometers; 25,000 postal workers unknowingly participated in the process. A large portion returned with the note: ‘Undeliverable, address unknown’. Together, the returned envelopes form a green map of Europe. But you also see gray areas; these are the envelopes that never came back and that Vlugt is still waiting for.
Hotel Europe is about experiencing adventures without traveling. Everyone can invent a different story when looking at the map. At the festival, we invite you to share your North Sea Jazz experience with someone, anywhere in the world. Write about your adventure on a special North Sea Jazz postcard and send it right then and there.
