Description

David van Dartel – Ommelanden
Publisher: David van Dartel, 2025
Softcover, 100 pages, Dutch
Size: 30×22.5cm
Signed copy!
New in seal

‘Ommelanden’ is about growing up in the northernmost part of the Netherlands. It’s a portrait of close-knit communities, love, the future, and endless polders and freedom.

Ommelanden is the name for all the areas surrounding the city of Groningen, which are often portrayed one-dimensionally in the news media: earthquakes, socio-economic disadvantage, a region in decline.

Together with writer Pepijn Keppel, I spent three months on a farm north of Usquert, between the village and the Wadden Sea. Without downplaying the issues mentioned above, it turned out the region was so much more than that: the monumental villages, the landscape, the rich history, and above all, the young people who are there for each other. By staying there for an extended period, doing research, and especially spending time with many people, I discovered that the existing image didn’t feel representative.

That’s how Ommelanden came to be. It is my interpretation of the time spent in North-East Groningen, with the hope of offering a different perspective on the region.