Sometimes the biggest ideas start with a simple walk.
As many people know, I began my creative journey as a photographer. Over the years, my work evolved, and I started combining photography with digital art and AI-assisted techniques. Art became not only a creative outlet but also a way to cope with the challenges of living with chronic illness.
Less than a year ago, I discovered Augmented Reality through an Open Call on Webbie Social. That experience opened a completely new world for me. It introduced me to Balanced Forces and Illust, and it showed me that art does not have to live only on a wall, in a gallery, or on a screen. Suddenly, art could exist anywhere.
Inspired by that discovery, I began experimenting with my own AR artworks in a park near my home. Standing there, watching digital artworks appear in the natural surroundings through my smartphone, a thought crossed my mind:
“What if more people could experience this?”
That question quickly led to another:
“What if artists from around the world could share their work here?”
The idea stayed with me.
The park I kept returning to was Krabbepark in Vlaardingen, a place where people walk, meet, exercise, relax, and enjoy nature. It felt like the perfect location for an exhibition that would bring together art, technology, and community.
At first, it was simply a dream. But the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that it could actually happen.
I shared the idea with Balanced Forces, and to my delight, they were just as enthusiastic as I was. Conversations followed. Plans were made. Routes were explored. Permissions were requested. Slowly, an idea that had started with a few AR artworks in a local park began growing into something much bigger.
To explore it further, I created the GO WEST Community on Webbie Social and launched an Open Call for artists who wanted to take part in something new. The response was incredible. Fifty artists joined in, submitting more than 80 artworks from different countries and backgrounds. From all of these submissions, 40 artworks were selected for the exhibition.
Today, that dream has a name:
GO WEST — Celebrating Culture & Joy
An international Augmented Reality exhibition that brings together artists from different cultures and backgrounds to share artworks that inspire connection, imagination, diversity, and joy.
Visitors will be able to discover these artworks while walking through Krabbepark, using their smartphones to reveal digital creations placed throughout the landscape. By simply scanning a QR code, they can start the AR route and experience the exhibition in an easy and accessible way. The route will remain available after the opening as well, allowing visitors to return and explore it at their own pace.
For me, that is the true magic of Augmented Reality: it transforms an ordinary walk into an unexpected artistic experience.
What makes this project especially meaningful to me is that it is not only about technology. It is about bringing people together. It is about making art accessible. It is about discovering creativity in unexpected places.
It is also a personal milestone. Organizing an international Open Call and exhibition is something I never imagined myself doing. I am an artist, not an event organizer. Yet every step of this journey has shown me what can happen when people believe in an idea and are willing to support it.
I am grateful to Webbie Social for giving me the opportunity to organize the Open Call, to Balanced Forces for presenting GO WEST and supporting me throughout this journey, and to Illust for making the exhibition possible and helping me with all the technical aspects.
I am also grateful to all the artists who submitted their wonderful artworks, to my daughter for designing the beautiful flyer, poster, and other promotional materials, and to everyone who will be helping during the opening of the exhibition.
Most of all, I am grateful to my husband, whose endless patience and support have meant the world to me, because so much of my time and energy has gone into making this exhibition possible.
This exhibition is personal in another way as well. One of my own artworks will also be part of GO WEST, inspired by Dutch culture, the city of Vlaardingen, and the joy that can be found in both. That makes this project feel even more connected to the place where it all began.
There is still plenty of work to do, but every conversation, every artist who joined, and every person who shows interest reminds me why I started.
A simple walk through the park became a dream.
And that dream is now becoming reality.
I hope to welcome you to GO WEST and share this journey with you.
With warm regards,
FotoGraaGHanneke