27 may 2025, Wouter van den Eijkel
Art Island 2025 begins aboard the ferry
The fair at the most exciting location—the fortress island near IJmuiden — will be holding its fourth edition in early June. This year, Juliette Jongma and Sanne Luteijn are curating a film and performance programme that includes a performance by Guido van der Werve created especially for this unique location—and which will be partially performed aboard the ferry to and from the fair.
In its press release, Art Island calls itself the most adventurous fair, a playful reference to the fair's unique location, the fortress island near IJmuiden. The fort was originally built as part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam, a network of tunnels with sloped walls, vaulted ceilings and immovable cabinets. A poignant part of the fort’s history is its use during World War II when it was occupied and used as a barracks.
Emile Gostelie, Please lead me on, 2025, Contour Gallery
Gallery owner Muriel Mager of Rotterdam's Contour Gallery is participating for the first time. Once she realised the weight of the location’s history, Mager immediately knew she wanted to show Emile Gostelie’s new series. “With Mutations, Monuments, Myths, Gostelie raises questions about the meaning of monuments and the human tendency to create, worship, demolish and reshape symbols of power.”
Not only are the presentations and location more adventurous, but the journey to the fort is an experience in itself. Art Island can only be reached by ferry and during this year’s edition, the fair experience actually begins on the ferry itself. On Saturday, for instance, a musical piece by Guido van der Werve will be performed. The artist composed a melody based on the founding date of the city of Amsterdam, 27 October 1275, while the harmony spells out the word ‘Amsterdam’. In celebration of the city’s 750th anniversary, the piece—played by a violinist—will be performed 750 times on the ferry’s round trips. On Sunday, Van der Werve will speak about his interest in numerology during an open mic session — also aboard the ferry.
On Golden Pond
Van der Werve’s music piece is part of a performance and film programme entitled On Golden Pond, curated by Juliette Jongma (writer, curator) and Sanne Luteijn, director of The Ekard Collection. Films by Nina Yuen, Janis Rafa, Magali Reus and others, will be shown from this collection.
The collaboration between Jongma and Van der Werve dates back 20 years. Jongma exhibited Van der Werve at her gallery (Juliette Jongma, 2004–2018) shortly after he graduated from the Rietveld Academy. Recently, she reached out to ask if he had any ideas for the performance programme—and he did.
Guido van der Werve
“It’s quite unique to witness a work by Guido created specifically for a location. He usually incorporates his performances into films,” Jongma says by phone. On Saturday morning, Van der Werve will be performing by running laps around the island. In this performance, he connects the number of kilometres comprising the defensive line and fortresses surrounding Amsterdam to the number of laps he will run—a total of 45. Van der Werve expects it to take two to three hours. Fair visitors are welcome to join him on the run at any time.
Additionally, there will be other performances throughout the weekend by artists such as Kexin Hao, Natalia Papaeva, Zahar Bondar and Erik Kamaldinov.
Art Island runs from 6-8 June on the fortress island near IJmuiden.
For tickets, a list of participants and visitor information, visit art-island.nl
