Throphies for Jan Hanlo Esasyprize, 2025
Every two years, the Doesburg Foundation collaborates with the Jan Hanlo Foundation and De Groene Amsterdammer magazine to create two unique trophies for the Jan Hanlo Essay Prize—celebrating outstanding Dutch essay writing.
For the 2025 edition, artist Annee Grøtte Viken and curator Jules van den Langenberg developed the trophies as part of a larger, ongoing research project for a future public artwork. Their starting point was a visit to one of Amsterdam’s fastest-growing neighborhoods, where wild pioneer plants sparked the idea of cultivating circles of flax throughout the area as it develops.
These circles become sites for social gatherings and seasonal harvest feasts. Once matured, the flax is processed into linseed oil, traditionally used as a base for paint. This all-natural, locally made paint is then applied to elements in the public space—benches, lanterns, and bins—using age-old techniques that imitate marble or wood, giving these everyday objects a monumental presence.
The two 2025 trophies are early prototypes of this vision: vintage Amsterdam trash bins, repainted with linseed-based pigment and transformed into vessels of story, community, and craft.
Image: Award ceremony at De Balie, photo by Nina Schollaardt.
