Terraforming Earth workshops<\/a> at Nieuwe Instituut, a public research program that explored how to make the planet sustainably livable for both humans and non-human life. After this, Nieuwe Instituut became the first-ever Zo\u00f6p and the spawning ground for the Zo\u00f6nomic Institute, the organisation that nurtures the Zo\u00f6p network and employs the Speakers for the Living.<\/p>\nEven though the term Zo\u00f6p is quite new, the idea of living in balance with ecosystems isn\u2019t. Regenerative thinking and ecological practice has been around for a long time and is not new to many non-Western indigenous communities around the world.<\/p>\n
What makes Zo\u00f6p different is that it turns these ideas into concrete organisational and economic models, building care for ecosystems directly into how an institution is structured and how it operates.<\/p>\n
Although awareness around sustainability is growing, the reality is we are still facing massive ecological, social and cultural challenges that can\u2019t be solved from a human-only perspective. Zo\u00f6p offers a way to rethink how we work, by including nature and other living beings in decision-making and by testing how that can function in real organisations.<\/p>\n
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What is Zo\u00f6p Connections 2026?<\/h2>\n
Zo\u00f6p Connections, initiated by EUNIC Netherlands, brings international artists to the Netherlands for residencies in Zo\u00f6ps. During the residency, artists explore how art can engage with the living world, foster regenerative relationships, and amplify more-than-human perspectives to inspire climate action. Members of the EUNIC Netherlands cluster invite artists from their countries for temporary residencies in Dutch Zo\u00f6ps.<\/p>\n
In many non-Western and Indigenous traditions, there is no strict divide between humans and the rest of the living world. People are understood as part of nature, connected to plants, animals, land, and ecosystems. The Western separation between humans and nature has shaped the way we built our societies, often treating the natural world as something to control or extract from. This way of thinking is deeply linked to today\u2019s climate crisis and biodiversity loss.<\/p>\n
That is why we believe culture is the place where change can begin. Through its residencies, Zo\u00f6p Connections creates space for artists and cultural institutions to explore their relationship with the living world together. It creates space to question old assumptions and imagine new ways of living together. Moving from representing nature to working alongside it, and asking the question: How can we form and nurture regenerative relations through cultural practice?<\/p>\n
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