Karin (R.C.M.) Stadhouders MA is affiliated to the Centre for Global Heritage and Development as a researcher since May 2015. Her research topic concerns the changing appreciation of industrial heritage in het Netherlands from 1975-2015 and the impact of this revaluation process on the redevelopment of former industrial sites.
After graduating cum laude in interdisciplinary Medieval Studies at Utrecht University (1989) Karin Stadhouders fulfilled various positions at local and regional governmental organisations from 1990 onwards. In addition she has worked as freelance copywriter, journalist and advisor. In 2008 she graduated cum laude in Heritage Studies (specialisation 'Belvedere Heritage Program') at VU University Amsterdam.
The research project "From wastelands to creative hotspots. The changing appreciation of industrial heritage in the Netherlands, c. 1975-2015" combines her professional and personal interests in the fields of cultural heritage, societal and spatial transformations, art and design.
This project investigates the "creation" of industrial heritage sites in terms of changing perceptions and valuations and its impact on preservation, planning, design and decision-making. It specifically focuses on the ways in which engaged artists and local interest groups (re)shape places in interaction with each other and with other stakeholders, from the initial “discovery” of abandoned industrial sites and landscapes as places of value to their deliberate redevelopment and reuse for new purposes.
See the interview and minidocumentary with Karin Stadhouders about Interstitial Wastelands.
