<p>Find out why artists are thriving in the Netherlands</p>

Judith Vrancken

Venturing beyond Vermeer

<p>What draws artists and cultural workers to the Netherlands, a country of 17 million inhabitants, to many still predominantly known for its polders, Old Masters, and as the world's largest producer of cut flowers? What are some of the country’s important support structures, tools, and policies that provide possibilities for artists to build their lives and practices in the Netherlands? Its contemporary art scene certainly holds some characteristics that it can claim as uniquely its own. </p>
<p>The country’s cultural ecosystem is known for its high density of distinctive institutions; museums, project spaces, platforms, and art bookshops that each host their own public programs are found in many cities and towns. Additionally, it has a vibrant, multicultural, and community-driven outlook through its vast, international populace, and extensive range of programs and projects frequently rooted in critical thinking and focused on issues around diversity and inclusion. </p>

<p>Most significant however, is that the Netherlands offers prestigious, world-renowned post-graduate residencies consisting of the two-year programs at Rijksakademie and De Ateliers in Amsterdam, and a one-year program at the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht. Here, artists from diverse backgrounds and stages in their careers benefit from an array of offerings of which others may only dream. They are given large studio spaces, and have studio visits with international curators, mentorships, and annual studio presentations. ‘Artists really need time to develop their own voices,’ says former De Ateliers’ resident <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/31532/Philipp-Gufler">Philipp Gufler</a>. ‘My research into different Queer histories and communities takes a lot of time and De Ateliers gave me this time and a studio to think and deeply engage with this discourse.’ </p>

<p>Besides Gufler, other alumni include international figures such as <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/23432/Evelyn-Taocheng-Wang">Evelyn Taocheng Wang</a>, <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8901/Marlene-Dumas">Marlene Dumas</a>, and Rory Pilgrim, who all continue to be predominantly based in the Netherlands. ‘I enjoy the international, well-connected scene in Amsterdam,’ continues Gufler, who is based in the Dutch capital. ‘Despite feeling that art institutions here tend to highlight artists’ identities, which can limit their practice and depoliticize their work, Dutch institutions are starting to look at their blind spots, rethink the canon, and take responsibility.’ </p>
<p>Former Rijksakademie resident and Amsterdam-based artist Mercedes Azpilicueta, whose practice focuses on countering rigid, historical narratives of feminism and colonialism, agrees: ‘We are a generation [of artists in the Netherlands] with very diverse backgrounds and one that engages in important questions that aim to decolonize histories on a global but, most importantly, local level. I feel my voice is necessary in such a polyphony to make sure feminism doesn’t become only white North American and/or European oriented, but that it includes other voices and genealogies.’</p>

<p>The Rijksakademie, located in the neo-classical, 19th-century former cavalry barracks in the east of Amsterdam, has been led by Emily Pethick since 2018. ‘The Rijksakademie invests in artists at that crucial moment in their careers when they have established a practice but need to take it to the next level in order to enter into the professional landscape internationally,’ she says. Besides large studio spaces, it offers ceramics, metal, and wood workshops, a media lab, and opportunities for print and mold making. What’s more, these facilities remain accessible to Rijksakademie alumni for the remainder of their careers. Under Pethick’s guidance, the Rijksakademie has been fostering   community building beyond artists’ individual practices through workshops, talks, and other events for both residents and alumni. ‘Historically, the Rijksakademie has created a space for artists to practice outside of the limelight, which made it quite secluded,’ Pethick continues. ‘In a positive sense, it has always been very protective of artists to give them a, often highly needed, time out. The challenge has been to figure out how we can be more connected to our surroundings without compromising this. We introduced the Social Practice workshop, which is aimed at linking artists to the wider kind of social context while enabling more collaboration.’</p>

<p>Even before Pethick’s appointment as director, the Rijksakademie spearheaded multiple initiatives centralized around collective learning, such as RAIN, a network of alumni-led independent artist initiatives. Another well-known example is <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/stories/documenta">ruangrupa</a>, that curated Documenta 15. The collective was cofounded by Rijksakademie alumnus Ade Darmawan. Pethick observes: ‘There is a history of Rijksakademie artists establishing initiatives that support other artists; a sort of interconnected ecosystem of this huge global network of artists practicing all over the world. This strong community spirit transcends each year. […] Its legacy has a strong effect on internationalizing the Dutch art landscape.’ Each year, 25 new artists are selected to become residents. Next to Azpilicueta, its list of alumni includes <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/10170/Fiona-Tan">Fiona Tan</a>, Monira Al Qadiri, Banu Cennetoğlu, and Willem de Rooij.</p>

<p>In line with anticipating on future generations’ needs, the Rijksakademie and the Hartwig Art Foundation – an Amsterdam-based private art fund – recently organized the conference <em>Art in the Age of the Metaverse</em>, aiming to generate tenets around social, environmental, and digital lines of thinking. For this project, they asked Memory Gems to conduct the research and they also collaborated with cultural and political center De Balie.&nbsp;Alongside a substantial and democratic public funding system that includes the Mondriaan Fund, the Performing Arts Fund NL, and the Netherlands Film Fund, the Hartwig Art Foundation is a key example of Dutch private funding. ‘The Hartwig Art Foundation started 2019 with the goal to add to the rich cultural field [in the Netherlands], and to be able to continuously reflect on changes and conditions of our time and stay flexible for changes,’ says cofounder and former Stedelijk Museum director Beatrix Ruf. </p>

<p>Supporting projects on both a national and international level, the Hartwig Art Foundation has copresented initiatives with local and international partners including the Stedelijk Museum; coproduced fellowship and production programs with Performa in New York; and co-commissioned projects like <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/stories/wu-tsang-how-i-became-an-artist-art-basel">Wu Tsang</a>’s <em>Moby Dick </em>(2022) for presentations in Zurich, Venice, and Amsterdam. It also stages projects by&nbsp;Meredith Monk in Amsterdam<em>, </em>and co-presents Édgar Calel at the SculptureCenter in Queens, NY, among others – an impressive yet non-exhaustive list.&nbsp;</p>

<p>What do publicly funded institutions in the Netherlands consider when acquiring works for their collections? Yolande Zola Zoli van der Heide, exhibitions curator at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, is part of the museum’s acquisitions team together with research curator Nick Aikens, director Charles Esche, and head of collection Steven ten Thije. The museum, located in a 1936 red brick building in the heart of the city, was originally founded by cigar manufacturer and avid art collector, Henri van Abbe, to exhibit part of his predominantly Modern art collection. Under Esche’s directorship since 2004, the Van Abbemuseum has solidified itself as one of Europe’s most significant Modern and contemporary art institutions.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Van der Heide echoes Gufler’s earlier sentiments on rewiring (historical) narratives through the act of acquisition: ‘In general, we share an intention to address the violences of our collection. I am particularly invested in ways that shift the conditions of our engagement, and [raise questions] around&nbsp;acquisitions; what each artwork asks of us as its new custodians and of the institution as its new home.’ Honoring these conditions and meeting the requirements of the work, demands that we ‘change ourselves or shift the museum,’ says van der Heide. ‘This is also to circumvent the trap of inclusion in the futile act of course-correcting a historically exclusionary collection.’<br></p>

<p>In 2022, van der Heide presented her first collection presentation, titled ‘A Lasting Truth is Change’. This exhibition featured a large number of works by (mostly female) artists in dialogue with pieces from the permanent collection. Many of the participating artists, such as <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/10766/Mounira-Al-Solh">Mounira al Solh</a>, Ima-Abasi Okon, AzpilicuetaI, and Simnikiwe Buhlungu came from prestigious residency programs in the Netherlands. ‘I was eager to bring works from outside the collection, by artists invested in transformative practices, into dialogue with the museum’s permanent holdings,’ says van der Heide. Within that process, the curator was adamant about not tasking them with producing new work: ‘As coconspirators that helped to hold me accountable for the exhibition’s guiding principle of change. I did not want to burden the invited artists with [that] task during a time of hyper precarity, experienced most acutely by the very bodies that have been&nbsp;left out of the collection.’&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Netherland’s rich cultural infrastructure, including its famed residencies and other graduate and post-graduate programs, has allowed for projects like this to unfold, which is how van der Heide said she could continue working with the aforementioned artists. ‘Incidentally, I am currently working toward a solo exhibition with <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/9883/Sung-Hwan-Kim">Sung Hwan Kim</a>, who was also a resident at Rijksakademie in 2004 and 2005. We were able to build this relationship thanks to these residencies. Some of the works by these artists are now in the museum collection and so the work can continue.’ <br></p>

<p>Judith Vrancken is a freelance writer, critic, and occasional curator based in Amsterdam.</p>
<p>Published on May 17, 2023.</p>
<p>Captions for full-bleed images, from top to bottom: 1. Cyclists&nbsp;in Amsterdam. 2. Inside De Ateliers in Amsterdam. 3. A view of Amsterdam from the Stedelijk Museum. 4. Inside Van Abbemuseum. All photos and videos by Alex Blanco for Art Basel.<br></p>

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