Monique Besten is a walking artist, writer, performer,

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and activist. She is known for her long-distance walking work, and is the subject of articles and publications discussing the use of walking as an art practice; she is a member of the

Walking Artists Network The Walking Artists Network (WAN) is an international network dedicated to walking as a critical and artistic practice; it reflects the growth and increased interest in walking art. It is based at the University of East London's Centre for Perfor ...

. She has been cited by scholar Phil Smith as part of a new generation of artists engaging site-specific theatre through 'performative journeys'.

Biography

Besten studied

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

, Cultural history, Media Art and Public art in

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Key works

The New Riddles and Constellations (2014)

Over four to eight weeks she invites a range of different artists to join and work next to each other. This leads on to developing new work. On her walks she wears a 3-piece suit which has stitched embroidery pieces of art inspired by the journeys. She takes photos, writing, drawing and videos to document and create art out of her work.

The Plastic Crusader Walk (2012)

A 64 kilometer walk that traveled from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

. Her aim was to collect every piece of waste plastic she could find. She attached each piece of plastic to herself that then created a large snail shape carried on her back. She gave it to the 'Metaal Kathedraal' and became part of and installation called the '8th continent.'

A Soft Armour (2016)

Besten wore this suit for 108 days; the suit was then shown in the AirSpace gallery. The walk started in Amsterdam the Nomadic village in the south of France (2013). She sewed a new price of text or images and names of the people she had met along the way to the inside of her three-piece suit every day. this created a collaged map of how she saw the world. Through the performance she also wrote reflections which are also on display.

The Dark Mountains Project (October 2015- May 2016)

This project was based in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

: a variety of artists, theatre makers, performers and writers began their walk through the dark. The walk-around meeting at various places picking up new people to join then and give them more clues into their culture along their way. They invited new guests, artists, writers, performers and theatre markers, one being Besten in Stockholm (15 February 2016). With her they tried to discover and work out the way in which we talk about what is going on in the world.

Awards and grants

* Amsterdam Foundation for the Arts, Stefan and Viera Frühauf Fund (Switzerland) * KiK Foundation (Art in Kolderveen).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besten, Monique Living people Dutch artists Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)