African Click

During my post-colonial theory years, I read a lot of African literature, but I have to confess I know practically nothing about contemporary African art. When selecting artists, African artists just don’t automatically appear on my long lists, simply because I know too little about them. Also, selecting artists based on the colour of their skin, their ethnic backgrounds or religious beliefs etc. is not my thing. However, it would be ridiculous not to have an African or Surinam artist presented at Open Source Amsterdam, considering it is in the Bijlmer. It would be mistakenly interpreted as some sort of statement.

For months there has been a huge stack of books my desk: Africa Remix, Fault Lines, Authentic/Ex-Centric, etc. But should I select an artist based on an image in a book? Hmmm. Sometimes, a curator has to be humble and admit he or she just doesn’t know everything. So I asked the people at the Prince Claus Fund, at Galerie 23, and everybody else who wanted to listen: do you know any good artists from African or Surinam origin that fit my project?

The combination of doing my own – I admit, very limited – research, and tips from experts has now resulted in an excellent list of artists. I will study that list very carefully the next weeks. But to be honest, I know already who I want. Sometimes, the choice for a certain artist is beyond language and rational argument. Sometimes, an artist just speaks to you personally through his or her work and you just feel that very special, inexplicable CLICK.

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.

A virtual Street of Sculptures

One of the main questions I asked myself when writing the development plan for the Street of Sculptures last year was ‘how do we keep the works in the collection crisp and dynamic?’ Works in the public space stay in the same place for years, within the same physical context. In my plan, I try to recontextualise the works using two different methods. The first is the recurrence of temporary art events, with different concepts and themes, curated by different curators. That means that a work of art originally created for Open Source Amsterdam in 2009, may be incorporated in an art event in 2013 under a complete different topic. Hopefully, that will bring out new aspects of the work, giving the public a chance to sense new meanings.

The second method is the use of new technologies. My dream is to create a world, where physical works are provided with a virtual context and virtual works with a physical context. Creating two, intertwining Streets of Sculptures, one physical and one virtual.

Let me explain how I see this: suppose there is a small tag located near a work of art in the public space. For instance a QR code (see picture above). You swipe you mobile phone over the code and voila, suddenly you see or hear something, something that has a relation with the work you are standing right in front of. Or you walk along the art route and suddenly you see a tag on a tree, or on a street lantern. You swipe you phone and you see or hear a work of art, created in the digital world, but made specifically for that physical site specific. That sort of thing.

I would like to have the technical infrastructure first, and start curating the Virtual Street after that. I would like to meet somebody, who tells me ‘Aha! Is that what you want? Well, then you need that system.’ But alas, no such person has come to my attention as of yet, despite letters, emails and telephone calls to all the Dutch new media organisations I know of. I will have to start 2008 with a renewed effort to make this virtual street happen. It is too important to let it slide.

Surprise dinner

Bas, our production co-ordinator, moonlights as a cook and he showed off his skills at a small dinner party tonight. At the table were Halil, Azra, Nienke (project co-ordinator), Ton (architect and my husband), Bas, Kick (Bas’ son) and me.

Food was great and that always helps getting the conversation going. Contemporary art in Turkey, the political situation (Halil has a Kurdish background), Sinan (Ton is a big fan), and Turkmenistan (Nienke had just seen Shadow of the Holy Book at the IDFA) were just a few of the topics.

Half way through the evening, Halil surprised us all by presenting his proposal for Open Source Amsterdam – sorry, can't reveal anything yet; you’ll have to wait until April 2008. All I can say is that I am delighted!

Rijksakademie

After the cold and wet tour through the Bijlmer, we went straight to the Open Ateliers at the Rijksakademie. The name of the institute is deliberately written with a ‘k’ and not with a ‘c’, because it models itself after the ‘classical Akademia, the place where young an old scientists and artists met to exchange ideas and knowledge.’ I was not very inspired by what was on display, but perhaps that was due to my fatigue.

Halil and Azra met up with Turkish artist Ahmet Ogut, who exhibited at the Open Ateliers (see video still). I ran into Amalia Pica, one of our participating artists, who told me she has some problems deciding on a good location, because she keeps getting lost (I really need to get a good map!). We agreed to walk the route together soon.

I had a couple of beers with Bas in the bar and then went for dinner with Jennifer Tee at a (very bad) restaurant. We discussed her participation in Open Source Amsterdam, the details of the contract and the planning.

Like some of the other artists, Jennifer wondered why I need the sketches by the end of March 2008, while the event opens in May 2009. The reason is that we suspect that it may take a long time to get all the permits sorted out. During the summer months, it is always hard to get things organized, and September would be cutting it close. So I need to present to the local authorities what is going to be where and for how long by May 2008 at the very latest. Art in the public space and red tape go hand in hand in the Netherlands!

Halil & Azra

This morning I got up early to pick up Halil and Azra from Schiphol airport. They’re really nice (and witty).
Later that day we went to the Bijlmer. Unfortunately, the weather was dismal. So we decided not to walk the whole route (3 km), but to take the car and make 4 stops: one around the newly opened Bijlmer Station and the shopping centre Amsterdamse Poort; one at the Anton de Komplein; one at the Gulden Kruispad along a canal, which has a lovely rural feel; and finally at the metrostation Kraaiennest. Halil didn’t disclose anything, but I have a feeling that he too (just like Thomas Hirschhorn) will prefer the area around Kraaiennest.

Visa update 2

Unbelievable: Azra has her visa! They’re arriving Friday morning

Visa update 1

Well, I e-mailed and faxed 8 pages to the Consulate General i n Istanbul, to both the visa and cultural affairs department. I have sent:
1. A letter to the consulate asking politely for a speedy procedure;
2. A letter of invitation, stating we will pay for everything, accept full responsibility and will compensate all costs in case our invitee is deported;
3. Flight details and proof of a return flight;
4. Hotel reservation;
5. Information about our organisation, the foundation Street of Sculptures (including all the important names on our recommendation committee);
6. Information about Open Source Amsterdam;
7. List of artists participating in Open Source Amsterdam;
8. Letter of invitation for participation in the project.

I hope this will convince the people at the consulate. Let’s hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Welcome to the Netherlands

When I went to Istanbul Biennial last September, I arrived at Ataturk Airport, went up to the visa counter, paid 10 euro’s and voila, there was my visa. Now I am compiling a set of documents for a Schengen visa for Halil Altindere and Azra Tuzunoglu.

Halil is one of our participating artists. Halil is also a curator and a publisher of magazines and books on contemporary Turkish art. I admire him immensely: his career took off like a rocket, exhibiting at the Istanbul Biennial (1997), the Sao Paolo Biennial (1998), Gwangju Bienniale (2002) and Manifesta 4 (2002). Then he decided to stay in Istanbul and set up an underground art scene as a reaction to the commercialisation of art in Turkey the last couple of years. He now chooses his foreign adventures very carefully, like Documenta 12 (see video still above). You can imagine how pleased I am he will create a work for us.

Azra is an art critic writing for Radikal, a Turkish daily. She is Halil’s girlfriend and comes along as a translator since Halil’s English is not that good and my understanding of Turkish in zero.

Halil, luckily, has a long-term multi-entry Schengen visa. Azra does not. The Netherlands does not provide cultural visas, so we have to apply for a business visa. I checked the website of the Dutch Consulate General in Istanbul and it lists 12 documents that should be handed in. And it can take up to 2 months to process the application. Humph. The red tape and the lack of hospitability of the Netherlands is an embarrassment to me and our organisation.

Thomas Hirschhorn

Yesterday I unpacked, washed my laundry, repacked and now I am in the Thalys on my way to Paris. I have a meeting lined up with Thomas Hirschhorn, at this studio in Aubervilliers. I am very excited.

Hirschhorn's work stormed into my professional life at Documenta 11. The Bataille Monument was a work I hated, I loved, hated, loved, and so forth. But as a result, I have been following his work closely over the last couple of years. The Mussee Precaire Albinet I have used as a reference in many presentations in order to show that the combination of 'high' art and a 'difficult' neighbourhood is very well possible, desirable even,

It has taken a long time and a lot of effort to get this appointment - and to be honest, most of the effort came not from me, but from Maria Bojan, a Rumanian curator.

Tate Modern

No more art fairs. Decided to go to the Tate Modern. Doris Salcedo's Shibboleth is great. So is the Louise Bourgeois exhibition. One must admire the way the Tate communicates: the leaflets, the exhibitions displays, etc. Anyone claiming art is elitist should head over there. It strengthens my view that art is not accessible or inaccessible, it is the way it is communicated that makes it so.

Zoo Art Fair

After meeting some friends over lunch at The Thomas Cubitt, I head off to the Zoo Art Fair. It has relocated to the Royal Academy of Arts (oh dear, Mayfair again). It is still chaotic, but not as much as before at the Zoo. Here too, in the wake of the Frieze, artists, gallerists, critics and collectors roam the aisles. Big sponsors have arrived (a champagne brand, I'm not complaining!) and the fair boasts 2.8 million pounds in sales.

I crave for a curated exhibition.

Frieze update 2

Just got a call from the gallery. I have a meeting tomorrow morning at one of their branches in town. Shouldn't party too hard tonight!

Frieze update 1

Getting more to terms with the commercial side of the art world. Everybody is here, not so much to buy works of art (although that too of course) but to meet people you'd otherwise have to go see in Parijs, Berlin, New York or Tokyo. I am getting more and more into the frantic, gossipy, money-crazy vibe that typifies the Frieze.

I am here to meet a rep of a gallery. There is an artist I would very much like to have in Open Source Amsterdam, but he has been impossible to get hold of. We've been sending e-mails and calling people since May! And now finally, we've got the gallery interested. The guy is not at the booth in the fair. I've called his cell phone and left a message.

In the meantime I have a better look at the art fair. This is not the place for new discoveries: it is one big name after the other. Works by several of the artists on my list can been seen here. Crousel Gallery from Paris has some collages by Thomas Hirschhorn. Neither Chantal nor Lara is at the booth. What a shame, I wanted to say hello and thanks. They have been very kind and helpful towards our project. In the meantime, a couple of booths further down, an untitled pile of small cushions by Louise Bourgeois is sold at $750,000.

The Frieze Sculpture Garden is just outside. Nice informal atmosphere. As for the art...judge for yourself (see pictures above).

Frieze frenzy

After months of working on theoretical frameworks, exhibition concepts, artists' ideas, and so forth, I am blasted into the Frieze frenzy. Hundreds of artists, thousands of works crammed into the booths. Art as commodity, stripped of any context that could generate meaning. Brrrr. Can't handle it right now.

Open Ateliers: Street for Kids

Today the Street organised a workshop for children at the yearly Open Atelier Route in Amsterdam Southeast. The kids created their own miniature works of art and placed them on a map of the porject area. So at the end of the day, we had our first little Street of Sculptures.