EVJ BAGS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR CARETAKING AGAIN IN MARCH 2025 
CHECK <a href="https://www.instagram.com/evjbags/">@evjbags</a> FOR UPDATES
What happens when an ordinary object becomes our responsibility; something we have to care for?
We buy things, or we receive them as gifts. Sometimes we rent things. But borrowing something – without a monetary exchange taking place – and then having to care for it, is less common; even less so when it comes to borrowing from a stranger. In our present moment, ideas around commons – shared spaces and shared resources – are still not a common good, although notions of care, commitment, responsibility, maintenance and trust are increasingly heard in public debate.
EVJ is a series of tote bags made from used plastic shopping bags. These bags are not for sale, but users can borrow them for a set period of time. In doing so, they become the bags’ caretakers: users sign a loan agreement stipulating that they will look after the bag and take care of it, and return it by six months, then a new caretaker might come along.
Elisa van Joolen initiated EVJ in March 2020 at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht, and the project continued in collaboration with Het Nieuwe Instituut starting in May 2021. EVJ challenges preconceived notions around property, use and care. It asks what it means to care for something that is not ours, and whether something seemingly worthless can accrue value by being in our charge.
On this website you can borrow a bag, browse through the ever-growing archive of EVJ bag stories, and read up on the history, theory and psychology of care, maintenance, and commons.
This website is in flux, so are the bags.
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Timeline EVJ:
ROUND 7 (March 2025): 38CC, Delft. 
ROUND 6 (May 2024): Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam. 
ROUND 5 (Oct 2022): Fitting in exhibition, Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture, Hasselt. 
ROUND 4 (May 2022): It&#8217;s our F***ing Backyard exhibition, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. 
ROUND 3 (Oct 2021): Things That Matter exhibition, Dutch Design Week Eindhoven. 
ROUND 2 (May 2021): Launch Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam. Thursday Night Live! Value and Care in Design <a href="https://nieuweinstituut.nl/en/events/waarde-en-zorg-design">WATCH HERE</a> 
ROUND 1 (March 2020): Launch EVJ at JVE Open Studios, Maastricht. <a href="https://www.mistermotley.nl/neem-de-tijd-open-studios-jan-van-eyck-2020/">READ HERE</a>
Contact: evj@evjbags.com
KVK: 34274093 
Terms and Conditions: see <a href="https://www.evjbags.com/faq">FAQ</a> 
Address: EVJ / Studio Elisa van Joolen 
Werkgebouw het Veem 
van Diemenstraat 410-412 
1013 CR Amsterdam 
The Netherlands

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