“To Breathe - Leiden” will be inaugurated in Leiden’s old town on 18 November 2022. @kimsoojastudio ‘s installation is the result of the Lucas Art Award that she won in 2020, with a view towards bringing people together using the city as the artist’s canvas. The arches over the water refer to Kimsooja's motif of sewing and weaving, and its repeated, cyclical movement. The metaphorical act of weaving represents connecting people and cultures, past and future, old and new, East and West. Leiden owed its fame and growth when it developed as one of Holland's largest cities in the mid-thirteenth century through a flourishing cloth industry. Refugees from the southern Netherlands gave the city new impetus from the 17th century onwards, introducing new knowledge and techniques. Leiden's Cloth Hall, opposite Kimsooja's work of art, dates from this era and has served as the city's art museum since 1874. To Breathe: Leiden symbolises the connection of, and through, art and science. In 2022, Leiden was the European City of Science. In early 2023, Kimsooja will enter a dialogue with several artworks in De Lakenhal's collection; the installation To Breathe: Leiden will be installed next to the Lijsbethbrug until February 2025. The Lucas Art Award was presented by the Lucas van Leyden Fund, which is tasked with contemporary art in the city. The work was executed by Anything is Possible and supported by Axel Vervoordt Gallery. For more information, visit the link in bio.