In 2017 Museum of the Moon was presented inside Midsland West Church on the island of Terschelling, Netherlands as part of Oerol Festival. A programme of music, science and professional events was programmed alongside the installation.
Terschelling’s Oerol festival has a reputation as one of the most fun, most exceptional theatre festivals in Europe. From its roots as a small festival in 1982, Oerol has grown to become a true phenomenon. Every June, the island of Terschelling in the Wadden Sea is transformed for ten days into a unique natural stage for theatre, dance, street theatre, art and music.
The Moon in Dutch Culture
There is a belief in Western culture that when looking up at the moon, the image of man can be seen. The Dutch household myth is, that the unhappy man was caught stealing vegetables. Dante calls him Cain:—
“… Now cloth Cain with fork of thorns confine,
On either hemisphere, touching the wave
Beneath the towers of Seville. Yesternight
The moon was round.”—Hell, cant. xx.
And again,
“… Tell, I pray thee, whence the gloomy spots
Upon this body, which below on earth
Give rise to talk of Cain in fabling quaint?”
Paradise, cant. ii.
Fake Moon Rock
A moon rock given to the Dutch prime minister by Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969 has turned out to be a fake. Find out more here.