Meeting Stijn Huijts

Today I travelled to the south of the Netherlands to meet Stijn Huijts, one of three programme committee members. Martijn van Nieuwenhuijzen (Curator at the Stedelijk Museum) and Jeroen Boomgaard (Associate Professor Art and Public Space at the Rietveld Academy) are the other two members. The programme committee advises the Board of the Foundation Street of Sculptures on art-related matters. It is involved in the selection of the curator (well, after me that is. There was no programme committee when I took the job), evaluates the project plan of the curator, and assists the curator with the evaluation of the sketches. But it also functions as a sounding board for the curator. At least, that’s what I do.

Stijn is very much informed about the latest trends and the newest talents, not just in the Netherlands, but internationally. Stijn has just changed jobs. He was the director of het Domein in Sittard. Now he is the director of the Glaspaleis in Heerlen. The Glaspaleis is a fantastic building from the 1930s that still feels very contemporary. It houses a library, an architectural centre, a art centre, a music school and a cinema. Stijn is a man with a vision and a mission. I think it will be good to keep track of all the things that will happen here over next years.