Jan Hanlo Essay Award by (Nelly&) Theo van Doesburg Foundation and artist Kitty Maria van Ekeren, 2023
The Jan Hanlo essay Award invited our foundation to come up with a befitting trophy for the two writers winning the 2023 award for their texts. Artist Kitty Maria van Ekeren and the board of (Nelly&)Theo van Doesburg presented ‘digging writers’ to the audience and winners on a celebratory evening in De Balie, Amsterdam.
Buning Brongers Award and Exhibition for artist Negiste Yesside Johnson, 2022
Amsterdam based artist Negiste Yesside Johnson won the Buning Brongers Awards and will exhibit her latest works at Arti et Amicitiae from 25 November 2022 onwards. Other winners are Bobbi Essers, Muzammil Hussain, Emma Peters, Pepi Schikowski, Cao Tang. Candidates for the award are done by the Dutch art academies. On behalf of Sandberg Instituut, Masters programme of Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, board member of (Nelly&)Theo van Doesburg Foundation Jules van den Langenberg nominated the artist Yesside Johnson.
Facade art work Fabulator by artist Minne Kersten, Welcome Strangers art route, 2022
For Welcome Stranger, Minne Kersten installed an air conditioning unit on the facade of her house in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Instead of functioning as its original intention of cooling the indoor air, the object is blowing smoke rings into the outdoor air. These are visible as circular puffs and seen traveling up to the sky, to eventually evaporate into thin air. The smoke rings are only briefly visible as they emerge out of the machine, before they evaporate and vanish. There might be an attempt to communicate, but it also talks about a kind of fleeting nature of an image. In order to slow down the viewer, the work hovers on the verge of ephememality, disappearance or absence.
The boardmembers of (Nelly&)Theo van Doesburg Foundation applaud the work and the platform for public art that Welcome Strangers offers and warmly recommend visiting the installation.
The work is on show on Kerstens’ facade from 24 June 2022 until 24 December 2022 at Schipluidenlaan, nr 12F (Broedplaats Lely), daily from 14:00-20:00 hours.
Hester Alberdingk Thijm with works of Afra Eisma, Saskia Noor van Imhoff, Buhlebezwe Siwana. Photo by Friso Keuris.
AkzoNobel’s Art Foundation has been collecting art for more than twenty five years, underlining the company’s dedication to supporting culture and the arts. This called for a special celebration during 2021 with the opening of the All Eyes jubilee exhibition at the company’s head office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The AkzoNobel Art Foundation is led by former (Nelly&)Theo van Doesburg Foundation board member Hester Alberdingk Thijm.
Performance programme at Amsterdam ferry station, 2019
performance by Ivan Cheng, photo by Lonneke van der Palen
Humming away the school and work day, the Commute-A-Long is the inaugural event of The NDSM Nursery Square and took place at ferry station NDSM in Amsterdam North. A sing-a-long commute intervenes in the social pattern of travelling from home to school or work and back again. Contributing a melody to the daily manoeuvres at the ferry boat platform on the NDSM Wharf. Pavements and sidewalks nearby the ferry boats at NDSM Wharf are repurposed as stages for vocal interventions. The Commute-A-Long is a reoccurring series of performances on Mondays and Fridays every week of the month in September. A total of four sets of morning and afternoon sessions (30 minutes each) are performed by various artist and singers.
The performance programme was part of Stichting NDSM-werf and Studio Makkink & Bey curated by (Nelly&)Theo van Doesburg Foundation board member Jules van den Langenberg.
Bronze branches in iron gate ‘Tilia Patina’ for residential building Square, Amsterdam
Square is a compact five to eight floor story building with a green courtyard in Amsterdam’s “Zuidas” area. The design is the work of Levs Architects, Amsterdam.
In 2017 artist Aliki van der Kruijs and property developer Wonam installed a custom gate that blends geometrical shapes with organic patterns. It is a 5 x 5 meter square steel bar fence, with a circulair branche pattern in bronze in the centre—a reference to the monumental tree that will be planted in the courtyard.
Former (Nelly&)Theo van Doesburg Foundation board member Jurgen Bey supported the artist and developer in the making process.
