Jongerenherdenking

To engage young people in Remembrance Day in a contemporary and meaningful way, Luxor Theater, Hofpleintheater, and Mothership joined forces in 2017. Together, they developed the first National Youth Remembrance Ceremony, held on May 4 in the heart of Rotterdam.
The idea: not only to pause, but to participate. Not only to remember, but to connect.
Mothership was responsible for the concept development, artistic and content direction, and overall project management. Central to the initiative was an intensive participatory process in which young people actively contributed to the creation of a large collaborative artwork. Under the guidance of artist Iwan Smit, they — together with passersby and children — built a monument of more than 7,000 candles on the square near the Laurenskerk.
A powerful image born from collaboration, reflection, and collective resolve.

While the Remembrance Concert took place inside the Laurenskerk, outside the act of remembering was made tangible — built up, candle by candle. In parallel, audiences at the Nieuwe Luxor Theater experienced The Smartphone Orchestra and the play De Loop der Dingen by Jeugdtheater Hofplein, both specially created for a young audience.

With this commemoration, Mothership, as curator and producer, helped shape a new tradition — one that moves young people, invites participation, and makes the meaning of freedom tangible.
Its success, evident in both media attention and public engagement, shows that even remembrance can be renewed — and that freedom, indeed, is something to be passed on.