Amsterdam Art Week
29th May - 2nd June 2024
Work by Afra Eisma, No Man’s Art Gallery
Amsterdam Art is delighted to announce the 12th edition of Amsterdam Art Week ( 29 May to 2 June 2024) and share the full programme and reveal the participating galleries and partner projects. The city will transform into a vibrant hub for contemporary art featuring over 200 artists at more than 70 locations across the compact yet vibrant city.
Join to see emerging artists such as Afra Eisma, Josse Pyl, Ehsan Fardjadniya, Raul Balai, Zuza Banasinska, Myrto Vratsanou, and established artists such as Charlotte Dumas, Michael Raedecker, Magali Reus, Marina Abramovic, Lee Ufan, Janette Beckman, Lydia Schouten…
and many more as they present work across the city, with new exhibitions in70+ locations, including renowned institutions as Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Oude Kerk, and GRIMM and hidden gems like, Gallery van Fanny Freytag, Arti et Amicitiae, Kunstverein, and CBK Zuidoost.
Amsterdam Art Week Vlog
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Amsterdam Art Week Vlog 👇👇👇
A Toilet Named Flush, 4am Start & Galleries...?
How would you describe Amsterdam Art Week?
In Conversation with Director Martina Halsema
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In Conversation with Director Martina Halsema 💬
Fae: What is Amsterdam Art Week all about?
Martina: It is to really make art accessible for a broad audience, but also to bring the Amsterdam Art scene back into the international spotlight and to keep it there, since we are such a small country but we do have a lot of international talent especially due to the Rijksakademie and De Ateliers but also the art schools and the project spaces.
We are sort of a very small hub of international talent so we really want to put that out there and to make sure that everybody sees it and also to see how special the Amsterdam Art scene is, but also we really want to make art accessible and I think this is a great example, it’s a very easy way for people to come in and we really want to spread the love for art to as many people as possible to get engage with.
Fae: What does it mean for international and Dutch artists to showcase their work at Amsterdam Art Week?
Martina: I think for both it is as important because they collaborate quite a lot. For the Dutch artists the collectors scene in Amsterdam isn’t really that big, of course we have a group of collectors that’s in the Netherlands but we also have a lot of international collectors coming to Amsterdam to really find new artists because I think this is really a hub for searching and finding and exploring new talent so we’re not really like the blue chip galleries in the other countries, you can really explore the talent here.
Also Afra Eisma (who came from the Rijksacadamie) now is an amazing artists and she has an exhibition here (W139 Gallery) and she also has a big show now at ‘No Man’s Art Gallery’ that’s also a more alternative art gallery so for them it’s really important to be visible outside of the Netherlands and she makes incredible big art works so I think that needs an international stage to get us space somewhere else in the world in a home or a museum.
Fae: What interested you in a career in the art industry?
Martina: It has been a love and hate relationships because I’ve really always had a great big heart for arts and culture, already from my parents but cultured in general not only contemporary art but also the old. Also music, dance and theatre, it has always touched me what art can do so I really was interested in how can we make it also already more accessible for a younger audience.
So I studied art education and then worked in a museum for art education, but back in the days it wasn’t really easy to find a job so it was quite difficult to get in the art world.
Sometimes it was a bit snarky so I moved outside the art world and started my career elsewhere, but then I missed it too much because I was still such a big fan and really wanted to contribute to the art world as well.
I think it’s very important what artists do they really speak up on what is happening in the world and it’s really a way of starting a discussion and conversation and seeing different point of views instead of just having your one opinion so I think art is very important, especially in these kind of times, to have a critical view.
Fae: What does this kind of event bring into Amsterdam?
Martina: A lot of collaborations and I think that is very important since we are just a platform, and we want to bring everybody together to showcase what kind of talent at the institutions we have in the city. We also try to be more intent to collaborate together to create a new programme or to create something very special for Amsterdam Art Week specifically.
The Amsterdam-Noord and I is a great example so all the organisations in Amsterdam-Noord, the Northern part of Amsterdam, are all working together and it also makes other people find new locations so it may be somewhere they have never been, you know it may be people who go often to museums but never stepped into a gallery space or a project space or even know what it is or the difference is, so they’re easy to hop around to explore and also to explore more about the city and that is not just for the local people but also it goes for the international people.
Fae: What sets Amsterdam Art Week apart from other art weeks?
Martina: I think we all sort of have the same mission and vision which is very interesting because we definitely aren’t an art fair. I think the very unique thing is how Amsterdam is built, it is a small city but in an international scale, so it still has that global reach and also the global vibe, but it is still very charming and outdoor museum with the canals and there are so many hidden gems and I think that makes it very special.
Also, the residencies of course we have here like De Ateliers and the Rijksakademie but also the art schools I think the combination of all the different types of institutions we have makes Amsterdam very special to big museums. We have 2 very important and well-known residencies in the city and that really brings a lot of talent to Amsterdam.
Fae: What is your favourite part about Amsterdam Art Week?
Martina: I think the people really feel like there is a good combination of fun so really enjoying seeing all the art works, meeting the artists plus meeting each other this you can really see at all of the openings and a lot of networking, people sometimes haven’t seen each other for quite some time and they can catch up again.
But then at the same time you also have this in depth moment like the symposium that we organise were we really talk about the future and the situation now the political situation not only in the Netherlands but across Europe and the rest of the world for the arts. So I think the combination of having fun but also the more critical conversations that form in some sort of whole scale of the art world happening all at once.
Fae: Lastly, for anyone who is interested in Amsterdam Art Week can you sum it up in 3 words?
Martina: Vibrant, creative and discovery.
Special thank you too: Nicola Jeffs , Amsterdam Art , Pillows Hotel , Martina Halsema , Rubiah Balsem & Fae Reid