We’re excited to share some good news…
Zoöp Connections continues, with
six residencies taking place in 2026
If you followed our stories last year, you might already know what this project is all about.
If not, here’s all you need to know!
contents
What is a Zoöp?
First let’s get down to basics: What is a Zoöp?
Don’t worry if the term sounds unfamiliar, you’re not expected to know it (yet!).
It’s the name for an organisation in which not only humans are included in making decisions, but also living beings’ (plants, animals, fungi, rivers, etc.) interests are considered and represented too.
Etymology
Zoöp comes from the word Zoöperation, which combines:
zoë = life
cooperation = working together
So it means: working together with all life, not just humans.
It asks :
How can we make choices that are good for more than just humans?
A Zoöp does this by involving a so-called Speaker for the Living. This person watches, listens and responds to what the living world needs, and helps the organisation make choices in the interest of all living beings, humans and more-than-humans alike.*
* Do you mean nature? Well.... not exactly. We aim to move away from the idea that humans and nature are separate. This way of thinking has led people to treat nature as something outside of us, something to use, control, or exploit. In reality, humans are part of ecosystems.
We shape them, and they shape us, for better or worse. The health of one affects the other.
Because we are so interrelated, we tend not to use the word nature.
Instead, we speak about ecosystems, the living world, or more-than-humans.
Where did this idea come from?
The Zoöp model began in 2018 during the Terraforming Earth workshops 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 Zoöp and the spawning ground for the Zoönomic Institute, the organisation that nurtures the Zoops network and employs the Speakers for the Living.
Even though the term Zoöp may be new, the idea of living in balance with ecosystems isn’t. 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.
What makes Zoöp 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.
Although awareness around sustainability is growing, the reality is we are still facing massive ecological, social and cultural challenges that can’t be solved from a human-only perspective. Zoöp 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.
So there’s a small introduction!
But if you want to know more…
Here’s a few websites where you can find more Zoöp related info!
What is Zoöp Connections?
Throughout history, culture has shaped how we see and understand the world. Museums, academies, and cultural institutions influence what we value, what we protect, and what we imagine for the future. Yet many of these institutions were built on the idea that humans stand apart from nature. The living world became something to manage, display, or draw inspiration from, rather than something we are part of. The ecological crisis we face today is not only a crisis of climate and biodiversity, but also a crisis of our sensitivity to our relationship with the living world.
That sensitivity is important. To enrich the culture of the living, a first step is to learn to see. Zoöp Connections creates space for that shift in perspective. Grounded in the Zoöp model , in which organisations include the interests of non-human life in their decision-making, the project invites artists to work within institutions that are exploring new, regenerative ways of operating. Instead of making art about nature, the residencies take place in settings that are learning to work with the living world.
By inviting residencies at Zoöps, we brings together changemakers, thinkers, artists, cultural institutions, and partners to explore what this change could look like in practice. It encourages institutions to move beyond sustainability as a goal, and toward regeneration as a shared responsibility. In doing so, the project asks: how can we form and and nurture regenerative relations through cultural practice?
How can we form and nurture regenerative relations through cultural practice?
Zoöp Connections is a project initiated by EUNIC Netherlands in which our members invite residents to stay with Dutch Zoöps. During these temporary stays, residents live and work within organisations that include the interests of non-human life in their governance and daily practice. Together, they explore how cultural institutions can learn to notice, relate differently, and act as part of the living world.
Last year’s Reflections
We worked with filmmaker Ruben van Zaanen to craft a video using footage recorded and captured by the 5 residents that stayed with a Zoop in 2025. Our residents were Estelle Zhong Mengual, Fabian Schäfer, Yolanda Uriz, Kapinga Muela Kabeya, and Ashley Holmes
Meaningful change doesn’t happen after just one moment.
That’s why we’re pleased with the opportunity to continue the project this year with support of the EUNIC Global Cluster Fund, involving more artists and longer residencies.
Who’s involved?
There will be 6 artists chosen by the Goethe-Institut NL, Ukrainian Institute, Finnish Cultural Institute, Czech Centres, Instituto Cervantes, and the Romanian Cultural Institute.
And each artist will now stay up to one month, with one of the following hosts: Tetem (Enschede), Mediamatic & De Ceuvel, Nieuwe Instituut & Buitenplaats Brienenoord (Rotterdam), Kunstfort Vijfhuizen, Creative Coding Utrecht, Kleverbergh.
More time for research
Stronger connections
Interaction with Speakers for the Living
&
Public Programming
Get involved!
We would love you invite on this journey, as there will be many opportunities to interact with Zoöp Connections in 2026. First of all, follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn. We’ll regularly related events, news, stories, and documentation from the residencies.
There’s a lot more to come, including:
P.S.
While EUNIC NL has caught a bug of sorts in this programme, Zoöp is only one way of looking at it. Iwe’re not the only ones working this way. Many other organisations are active in the regenerative field. And as mentioned before, this has been going on for YEARS! You don’t have to be a Zoöp improve the conditions for the living world. This happens in everyday life interactions and not just in institutions, caring for an animal, tending a garden, noticing and responding to the living world around you. Even something as simple as giving attention to a visiting cat is already a small moment of cooperation with another living being.
So how can you get involved? You already are!
Just keep your eyes open and you’ll notice the many different relations between living beings and
“…let what is meaningful for other lifeforms transform what is meaningful for us.”
as our 2025 resident Estelle Zhong Mengual put it so beautifully.
We’re really excited to start this second edition of Zoöp Connections, and we’re happy to take you along for the journey. To stay connected with EUNIC NL and all our other upcoming events please follow our socials and sign up for our newsletter.
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