Development in 2019 and 2020

Today is the last day of 2019, and that’s always a good moment to look back at the last 12 months. It has been a very good year for the Development project, with lots of new series and highlights such as a great exhibition in the Rotterdam Museum of Natural History and the Cultuurprijs 2019 (award for Cultural projects) of the Gemeente Zuidplas (the town I live in). For the new year that’s about to start, 2020, there are already some big plans.

Looking back on 2019

First, some numbers; by the end of 2019 Development consists of 33 series of 32 different animal species, of which 18 were made in the last 12 months, more than doubling the number of series from the beginning of the year. Most new series are of fish species, eight in total. The others are four insects, three reptile species, and a second amphibian. Completely new are a crustacean and a spider.
One of the biggest highlights of the year has to be the first large exhibition of the project at the Rotterdam Museum of Natural History. Especially in August, a lot of visitors came to the museum, and I received many nice comments on my work. The other highlight was winning the Cultuurprijs 2019 award. I didn’t expect to get nominated, let alone that I would win. Hopefully, there will be a nice follow-up in 2020 in the form of a project for the elementary schools in Zuidplas, which involves the pictures and series of Development.

Plans for 2020

There are already a lot of plans for 2020. I’m currently working on 3 new series; a Budgerigar, a Leaf insect, and a Slug. If everything goes to plan, these will be finished in a couple of weeks. I will also continue breeding some fish species myself. I already have one new species in my tanks, Corydoras hastatus, and hopefully some more will follow soon. Furthermore, I will try to find breeders that are willing to help me with the project by, for example, lending me some eggs. There are actual plans for photographing a Lamb, a foal, and a Chinese cave gecko. Other species that are high on my wish list are a baby Rat and a chameleon, and I’m going to really try to work hard on these.
A big dream for 2020 is to publish a book with the pictures of the project. I’m not really sure about self-publishing, so I will probably try to find a publisher who can help me. It would be great if there could be more exhibitions, so more people can see the pictures and realize how extraordinary the growth and development of animals is.
In short; there’s a lot of work to be done, and I will quickly get back to it. I wish everyone a good New Year’s Eve and a happy and healthy 2020.

See you next year!