The Year of Solace
2026 / 2027
Who holds us when the world falters? When a baby cries, we pick them up, cradle them, stroke them, and offer a shoulder. But how are we held and grounded when we are adults? Across five full-evening sessions, we explore the fundamental need to be comforted.
Marte invites you on an artistic journey of discovery alongside theatre maker Adelheid Roosen | Female Economy and musician OTION. Through dinners, mini-masterclasses, conversations, and physical experiments, we practice holding, rocking, and supporting one another. The Year of Solace does what societies once did naturally: providing a structure to comfort one another, together, in ritual time.
TROOST (SOLACE)
These sessions will form the foundation of Marte’s research for the performance TROOST (SOLACE): a collective sanctuary in which nature and the stories of strangers become our tools for a gentler world. During this performance, it is not only our personal loss that is held, but also the earth itself: disappearing species, depleted soils, lost landscapes. TROOST will premiere at Oerol 2027.
The Curators
Marte Boneschansker (she/they)
Marte creates intimate one-on-one experiential theatre and physical audio works based on documentary material. In their community The Year of…, they invite the audience to become part of their artistic research into human connection. Well-known projects of theirs include the BLOOS series, ROUW (GRIEF), and OPSTAND (REBELLION).
Adelheid Roosen (she/her)
Theatre maker and artistic director of Female Economy, Adelheid Roosen, has been exploring encounters with 'the Other' for over 30 years. By tilting perspectives, she opens up conversations around personal and societal taboos, from Alzheimer's to sexuality. Since 1986, she has been a lecturer at the Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam.
OTION (he/him)
OTION (Guillermo Blinker) is a multidisciplinary artist who weaves singing, dance, and spoken word into sensory performances. His work is deeply rooted in spirituality and ancestry, using music and movement as instruments for healing and collective connection. With his unique blend of urban and ritual influences, he creates contemporary ceremonies that touch audiences directly in the heart.
The Programme
Together with guest curators OTION and Adelheid, Marte has put together a varied and comforting programme. Across five sessions, we explore the architecture of solace. No artistic background is required; only the willingness to hold one another.
Session 1 (15 October 2026 – 18:00–22:00)
In this session, we look at solace in the animal kingdom alongside a behavioural biologist. How natural is empathy? When do we see the other for who they truly are? And what can we learn from elephants, peacocks, and manta rays?
Session 2 (17 December 2026 – 18:00–22:00)
We dive right into the deep end: in this session, we make room to mourn our losses through movement. How can we support one another? Set to the comforting sounds of OTION, we explore how to get out of our heads and into our bodies. No dance experience required, just a body that feels.
Session 3 (4 February 2027 – 18:00–22:00)
Dreams are letters from our subconscious filled with archetypes, symbols, and whispers of nature. Together with a dream interpreter, we explore the language of the night and listen to what our deepest self is trying to tell us. What solace lies hidden in our dreams? And what happens when we share our inner images with one another?
Session 4 (8 April 2027 – 18:00–22:00)
To hold each other and to let yourself be held requires surrender and trust. Together with a Shibari instructor, we explore the knots, desires, and relaxation of this ancient Japanese bondage technique.
Session 5 (15 May 2027 – 14:00–22:00)
During this extra-long session, we look back on our realm of solace (Troostrijk) and sing songs of mourning in the tradition of lamentations. Singing, finding a frequency together, is a form of comfort where no one needs to be anything other than who they are, as we find each other through choral singing.