Amsterdam Art Week starts on the last day of this month, when art can be viewed at more than 50 locations in the city for five days, from museums and residencies to galleries and from project spaces to private and corporate collections. Martina Halsema, the new director of Amsterdam Art, is committed to deepening ties within the Amsterdam art world in order to reach both the general public and art professionals.
The eleventh edition of the Amsterdam Art Week is the first with Martina Halsema at the helm of Amsterdam Art, an umbrella organisation that strives to increase the visibility of the Amsterdam art sector among the public and professionals. Halsema is a well-known figure to insiders. In the past, she worked for some time on the collection of De Nederlandsche Bank and has been associated with Amsterdam Art as Head of Programme and Partnerships for the past 2½ years. In that role, she developed the Amsterdam Art Week programme together with the then-director and steadily expanded the number of partnerships. As director, she is committed to forging a closer connection between the various components of the Amsterdam art sector.
Increasing visibility
The goals of Amsterdam Art align seamlessly with the theme of this edition: openness and hospitality in the art world, a point where there is still room for improvement, according to Halsema. “During the pandemic, we noticed that the different links in the chain were self-contained instead of truly feeling like a system. Now, post-pandemic, is the perfect time to point this out. I think there is an important role for me in bringing all parties together: to get everyone on the same page again and show that we need each other to strengthen each other.”
An event like Amsterdam Art Week can play an important role in this. Halsema explains, “If you join forces and bring everything together all at once, such as during Amsterdam Art Week, you also show the public the latest developments in the field. Instead of having all 50 locations address their own audiences individually, we activate an overarching network consisting of both our network and that of all participants. Bringing these networks together should increase the visibility of the field among the public. Apart from that, we also organise lots of fun, accessible and interesting events.”
A unique ecosystem
It is mainly a matter of synergy, because Amsterdam has a lot to offer, according to Halsema. She describes the capital as a charming city with a unique, fine-meshed ecosystem of museums, galleries, project spaces and private collectors. “Amsterdam is a delightful city. Although small in size, it is absoltely a metropolis. You can walk along the canals and through the history of the city, but also end up in crazy places outside the centre. It is a city that has retained its own character and has lots of hidden gems.”
The cosmopolitan side of the Amsterdam art world is partly due to the city's three renowned art institutes. Halsems adds, “In addition to reaching a local audience, we know how to attract international top talent through postdoc programmes such as the Rijksakademie and De Ateliers, though also the Rietveld Academy. And in addition to a thriving gallery sector, there are a number of major museums in the city and numerous project spaces that offer opportunities to artists. So, there is quite a rich cultural life in the city.”
Amsterdam Art Week 2023
According to Halsema, the charm of Amsterdam Art Week lies in its spread across 50 locations throughout the city. “This makes it a wonderful journey of discovery for art lovers. It takes you all over the city to all those diverse places that make Amsterdam the special place that it is. With those tours, we want to seduce the public and show that all these doors are open to them.” The number of routes that visitors can walk in the various locations is therefore larger than in the past. Studio visits are also on the programme for the first time. “It’s great for visitors to have the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes at artists at work, which is why we have added 15 studio visits. This benefits not only the professionals, but also the public.”
In addition, the VIP programme is much more extensive than in previous years. “A VIP programme may sound glamorous, but it is in fact a substantive programme for art professionals, curators and collectors that facilities wonderful encounters between artists, institutions and international guests.”
The importance of the Amsterdam galleries
The importance of galleries in the art world is sometimes underestimated, says Halsema. “Galleries are an indispensable link in the ecosystem and we want to emphasise that with Amsterdam Art Week. The first thing people often think of are so-called blue chip galleries with millions in profits, but such galleries do not exist in the Netherlands. As a result, there is more room for experimentation here. Galleries support artists and often spot them early in their careers. So, they also take the financial risk and try to give artists a platform in different ways. This refers not only to exhibitions in galleries, but also by using them to the network they have built up over the years to get a museum exhibition or to an artist abroad. It truly is a profession in itself. Without the galleries, the art world would be very dull because where would the artists go?”