NEWS

Dennie Boxem (1983) is an independent artist, entrepreneur, singer and makes Team-Artworks. Recently the 30.000e participant contributed to his artworks, stimulating togetherness with art.

You can find Dennie at business park and sustainable hotspot De Makersfabriek in Zwolle, where he is building large circulair ‘Park Güell-like’ mosaic sculptures.

Since 2020 Dennie makes art in his philosophy The New Definition Of Progress. He uses art to visualise progress in its full potential; used in its full advantage. Dennie’s The New Definition Of Progress contains the following.

It’s a fact that we, humanity, are main responsible for deforestation, plastic soup, bio-industry, overfished seas, biodiversity-loss that led to most crises. It’s also a fact that we have been making progress since the beginning of our human existence.

The fact that these conflicting facts are true at the same time, has two reasons.

One: we have only been making progress for our own specie.

Two: we wore blinders for the collateral damage our progress was causing.

So, with humanity’s constant thrive to keep moving forward, how do we solve this?

Easy.

With a new definition of progress.

Dennie’s New Definition Of Progress is as simple as it is effective. It implies that everyone, in every moment of action, has the choice to try minimise the collateral damage to our fellow man, animals and the natural world. When possible exclude it. Or even better, reverse earlier done damage. Every act, action, change or development can only be labeled as ‘progress’, when there is no collateral damage caused with this act, action, change or development.

Every individual choice, as simple as picking up a piece of litter; eating less (or no) meat; not buying plastic wrapped products; or rewilding your garden, means ‘progress’. The philosophy starts to get interesting when it gets to the level of politics and multinationals. Imagine every future political decision must try to minimise, exclude, and ideally reverse earlier inflicted collateral damage. Where politics often lack decisiveness due to conflicting interests, The New Definition Of Progress provides this common interest above all others.

Boxem wants his art to propagate this new definition. He wants his art to visualise progress in its full potential; used in its full advantage; excluded from collateral damage to our fellow man, animals or the natural world. He aims to promote awareness, provoke dialogue and inspire action, to contribute to inner-revolutions within individuals, to help catalyse a collective change.

Take the artwork David Attenborough: Let’s Rewild The World, It shows Sir David touching an industrial landscape, that turns greener by an action of an individual: Dennie asks visitors to add a single green dot. Only one. A lot of people feel that one’s personal efforts as an individual to encounter global problems like climate change, are negligible in the big picture, a drop in the ocean. This artwork aims to break this negative feeling. With 4.500 participants, the landscape slowly turned green, and the artwork visualises that every dot was needed to accomplish the goal. A whole different mindset.

An important part of Dennie’s work are Team-Artworks. This is Dennie’s concept where tens or thousands of individuals can contribute as an artist to his paintings. This literally bonds, because whole groups get united in one artwork, stimulating togetherness with art. Over 30.000 people have contributed to his art, including great Dutch names. And by letting people be a part of his art, Dennie aims to make them part of the message.

Dennie is (lead) singer of Koorbazen. The 55-headed choir is performing on the largest stages of The Netherlands.

As a cultural entrepreneur, Boxem has organised and curated exhibitions like Public Expo and POP UP Museum Theater de Spiegel aiming to promote contemporary artists from Zwolle.