Cultural entrepreneur Michael Huises is convinced that culture connects people by telling connecting stories. As co-founder of Art and Object Rotterdam, former director of the Zuiderzee Museum, the Rembrandt House and Abu Dhabi’s Manarat al Saadiyat exhibition centre, Huijser knows the cultural world like the back of his hand.
Since 2016, he has been the General Director of the Netherlands’ National Maritime Museum where he sheds a contemporary light on history in his own unique way:
“In my capacity of museum director at various heritage institutions, I am always looking for an answer to the question of how you can use history to interpret the present – or to put it into perspective - and to give it the right context. Visual arts, literature and music lend themselves very well to a correct reflection on this. That is why I often give assignments to an artist or buy works that lend a fresh perspective on an apparently one-dimensional story of years and data. At the moment, the Maritime Museum is working hard to present the same objects from a diverse perspective, also by entering into debate and dialogue with the public.”
For GalleryViewer, Michael has curated a selection of artists with whom he was directly or indirectly involved at the various institutions he has worked for. In his own words, he explains what makes the work of these artists so special to him.