28 april 2022, Flor Linckens
May: a month full of art events
Art lovers will be able to indulge themselves in the month of May, when no fewer than three successive art and culture events will take place: Amsterdam Art Week (11 to 15 May), Rotterdam Art Week (18 to 22 May) and Antwerp Art Weekend (26 to 29 May). In this article, we offer a few highlights.
Amsterdam Art WeekDuring the tenth anniversary edition of Amsterdam Art Week (11 to 15 May), the entire city will be dominated by contemporary art. No fewer than 65 participants organise openings, open studios, artist talks, debates, performances, film screenings and gallery tours. All these events are united under a single theme: a look at the future. In this edition there is also extra space for initiatives that take place outside of the city center. Amsterdam Art Week thus offers an excellent opportunity to rediscover how dynamic the Amsterdam art climate actually is. Check out the inspiring program of the well-known galleries, but also make sure to take a look at the Young Section, which was launched this year especially for young, up-and-coming galleries. You may want to visit the Facing Blackness exhibition in The Black Archives or go to the Het HEM & Friends Party. Or perhaps you want to explore your discomfort with the work of artists like Jose Dávila, Alicia Framis and William Kentridge in Project Space On The Inside at NDSM. Below we share a few more tips.
Nina Folkersma, director of Amsterdam Art: "Ten years of Amsterdam Art Week offers an excellent opportunity to celebrate, to look back, but above all: to look ahead. Under the heading Celebrate Change, we investigate the changing dynamics in the Amsterdam art field over the past ten years. We zoom in on the offer in the neighborhoods and we build bridges from North to Southeast, from East to New-West, and from the city districts to the city center. During Amsterdam Art Week, we bring both the existing audience - of professionals and culture lovers - as well as the art audience of the future into contact with the best that the Amsterdam art scene has to offer. For those who experience difficulty choosing, we have highlighted 10 Amsterdam Art Week Specials, program components that you should not miss this edition.”
Open Studios Rijksakademie
Like every year, the shining centerpiece of the program is the opening of the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, a prestigious two-year residency program. It hosts a mere 23 new artists per year, who are selected from an average of 1500 entries from all over the world. A completed residency often means a definitive breakthrough for the participating artists. During the annual opening, you will get to peek into the studios of the 46 artists and you can see what they are working on at the cutting edge. During your visit, you will most likely be surrounded by museum directors, art collectors, curators and gallery owners who are spotting new talent.
Opening Night Galleries & Young Section
Do you want to immerse yourself in a large amount of art in a short amount of time? Then the festive opening evening on Thursday 12 May may offer a good opportunity to explore a number of galleries. These galleries will open their doors especially for Amsterdam Art Week, between 5 pm and 9 pm, showing special and stimulating work. You might even discover some new galleries! Click here for an overview of the participating galleries.
A Selection from the JULIA STOSCHEK COLLECTION + Afterparty (in collaboration with Eye Filmmuseum)
Are you a lover of time-based media? This art medium — which includes film, slides and audio — is central to the JULIA STOSCHEK COLLECTION. Stoschek started her collection in 2003 and it has since grown into one of the largest private collections within the medium. The works are normally exhibited in two spaces in Berlin and Düsseldorf, but together with Eye Filmmuseum, especially for Amsterdam Art Week, she made a selection from the collection that will be shown in Eye. Music and ecstasy are central in that. Stoschek herself is a big fan of techno music and dance parties, which means that the presentation will be accompanied by an afterparty in the museum on Saturday 14 May.
View the full Amsterdam Art Week program here.
Fotografie van Lakin Ogunbanwo, te zien in de Thami Mnyele Foundation tijdens Amsterdam Art Week
During Rotterdam Art Week (18 to 22 May), art, design and architecture are placed on a pedestal. With about 70 events at 50 locations, you get a chance to rediscover what makes Rotterdam so unique. Like every year, the pivotal event of Rotterdam Art Week is the international art fair Art Rotterdam, supplemented by the leading design fair Object Rotterdam, young talent at The New Current, the Kunstavond XL in the Witte de Withstraat and the TEC ART festival; at the exciting event at the intersection of art, creative technology and science. In addition, there is a lot to see in the galleries, open studios and unique creative breeding grounds such as STEUR, which are only open to the public once a year. In addition to these must-sees, we highlight a few more tips below.
Charlotte Nijsten, coordinator of Rotterdam Art Week: “The best aspect of Rotterdam Art Week? The whole city is buzzing! That is the result of approximately 70 events at 50 locations, including various fairs like contemporary art fair Art Rotterdam and design fair Object Rotterdam, as well as special openings and exhibitions in museums and art institutions, pop-up exhibitions and open studios that actively enhance and enliven the art climate in the city.”
Tip: did you know that during Rotterdam Art Week, you can borrow a VanMoof e-bike (for free) between 11 am and 5 pm? Please note: It is necessary to make a reservation in advance. In addition, there is a free MINI shuttle service between the Van Nelle factory and the Merwe-Vierhaven area.
Do It Yourself Routes
Do you prefer to go out on your own but don't know where to start? Then make use of the handy Do It Yourself Routes, which were created in collaboration with Art Index Rotterdam and her tour partner. The walking routes cover the five focus areas: the Merwe-Vierhaven area (M4H), the Van Nelle Factory area, the Kop Van Zuid, the Museum Park and the vicinity of the Central Station. View all walking routes here. Tip: click on the Google Maps button on the website to open the route (including all locations in Google Maps) on your phone. That way you can effortlessly navigate through the city.
Photography
Are you a big fan of photography? Then you can indulge yourself during Rotterdam Art Week. Pay a visit to Rotterdam Photo (19 to 22 May), a photo fair with no fewer than a hundred participants, accompanied by a side program that includes lectures, music, workshops and food trucks. In the House of Photography, you can see how 22 photographers have delved into the relationship between our body and our environment. And in Weisbard, Hugo Borst's new art space, you can discover the work of photographer Tom Barman, who initially became famous as the singer of the rock group dEUS. During Rotterdam Art Week, the Kunsthal will present work by the French photographer Claude Cahun, who is lesser-known by the general public but whose work proved to be a great source of inspiration for photographers such as Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin and David Bowie. Photography enthusiasts will also want to visit the international art fair Haute Photographie (19 until 22 May) on the Keileweg. And last but not least: in the Nederlands Fotomuseum, you can be inspired by the work of the famous war photographer Chas Gerretsen, who inspired a character in the timeless classic Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola.
Claude Cahun in Kunsthal Rotterdam
HIM (A Monument for Art & Design)
On 21 and 22 May, you can attend a special art and architecture tour in Het Industriegebouw in Rotterdam. You will get a peek into a remarkable private collection, with work by artists and designers such as Robert Zandvliet, Sabine Marcelis and Jan van der Ploeg, spread over 22,000 square meters. This way, you get to experience art in a different way than you do when you visit a museum.
Brutus
Last year, it was announced that Atelier van Lieshout is starting an ambitious development project, together with Powerhouse Company: Brutus. For this purpose, 10,000 square meters in the M4H area in Rotterdam-West will be transformed into a real culture cluster, including exhibition spaces, a sculpture garden, homes and studios for artists and a public art labyrinth. There will be room for both established artists and up-and-coming talent, and all art disciplines are represented: from sculpture to performance, from drawing to video. From 2022, Brutus will be open as an exhibition space at its current location, spread over Keileweg 10 to 18. Now and during Rotterdam Art Week, you can see exhibitions by the famous twin LA Raeven, the American artist Alexandra Phillips and Atelier van Lieshout in the former harbour complex.
View the full program of Rotterdam Art Week here.
Antwerp Art Weekend 2021 in Zeno X Gallery. Foto: Benny Van den Meulengracht-Vrancx.
Antwerp Art Weekend
The Antwerp Art Weekend (26 to 29 May) is a fantastic opportunity to explore Antwerp's exciting art climate. At more than seventy locations, spread all over the city, you will come into contact with all possible contemporary art forms. Not only in the established galleries and museums, but also in art spaces, two prominent art academies and at various artists' initiatives. These locations also offer exclusive activities that can only be attended during this weekend. On Saturday evening, the recurring 'Night of the Visual Arts' will take place in De Studio, a grand celebration in honour of the Antwerp art scene, organised by Subbacultcha. Below, we highlight a number of other activities and exhibitions that take place during the Antwerp Art Weekend.
The organisation is already looking forward to the next edition: ”Every year, the Antwerp Art Weekend shines a spotlight on the city's vibrant art scene. It underlines the ongoing essence of contemporary art for society. Following the success of the previous edition, we will return this year with the same jubilant energy!"
Guided Tours
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the Antwerp Art Weekend, you can join various guided tours. That way you don't have to map out a route yourself and you still get a versatile picture of what the city has to offer during this weekend. For example, ArtLand offers guided tours in the 'het Eilandje' neighborhood, where they visit Art Forum, Art Partout, Coppejans Gallery, Galerie Verbeeck - Van Dyck, Pedrami Gallery, Galerie Raf Van Severen and Wezenbeek-Remy. Besides that, Private Art Tours offers three types of tours. First of all, the BBB, Bold Brave Borgerhout tour, in which a lot of attention is paid to cross-pollination and intercultural dynamics. It includes a visit to Ballroom Project, Zeno X Gallery, Kunsthal Extra City, Violet and DMW Gallery. In the SOUTH / NEW SPACE tour, you explore the galleries in the South: PLUS–ONE Gallery, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, de wael 15, Newchild, IBASHO Gallery and Galerie Transit. And in the CULTURE is (not) HISTORY tour you take a closer look at the historic center of the city. It entails a visit to De Zwarte Panter, gallery valerie_traan, gallery FIFTY ONE, Duende Art Projects, gallery Callewaert Vanlangendonck and ROEM ROOM. Please note: reservations are required if you want to participate in these tours. Tip: If you want to discover the city and the different locations yourself, you can plan your own route by using the interactive map.
Het werk ’Trouble Minded’ (2021) van Carole Mousset, te zien in de expositie Sugar for the Pill.
Sugar for the Pill
Each edition, Antwerp Art invites a curator to put together an exhibition in De Studio, the central location of the Weekend. This year, this resulted in the exhibition Sugar for the Pill, by curator Zeynep Kubat. The artworks in the exhibition offer time and space for the recovery of our physical and social traumas. Combined, they function almost like an artistic sanatorium, in which we can question the existing frameworks of our physicality and in which space is freed up to rest, learn and heal. This exhibition includes work by Margaux Schwarz, Laurie Charles, Chantal Van Rijt, Lysandre Begijn, Saddie Choua, Aurélie Bayad, Carole Mousset, Eline De Clercq and Lisa Ijeoma.
View the full program of Antwerp Art Weekend here.
