Finissage August 25th

Location: Het Gemaal op Zuid

This years finissage was a reunion of people from all walks of like. The Groene Hilledijk was filled with friends, family and neighbours. Jan Sikon did a performance about time. He invited the audience members to cover themselves with the same white shrouds that were part of the performance during the opening of All you can Art. The walls that were black and empty at the beginning of July, are now covered in bright colours from the floor to the ceiling. The same goes for het Gemaal op Zuid which is now also completely filled with installations, sculptures, illustrations and poetry. During the Summerschool certification ceremony, the diversity amongst students became ever so clear. From high schoolers to pensioners, every student had a unique connection to the project.  

MEIRE VIEIRA

Meira is a Summerschool student and shares her summer experience.
“I came here with a mission. In 2012 was studying at the art academy when I became pregnant. As single mother, I could no longer continue my education. In 2013 I tried it again but when it didn’t work out I gave up. This year I decided to rearrange everything to make sure I could take part in the Summerschool. That was a huge step, to reconnect with creativity. But it is a part of myself that I could no longer push aside. After six years, it is like being reborn. It pulled me out of my bubble and prepared me to continue taking steps in the right direction.”

GUUS VAN VUGT

Guus van Vugt is an artist who also volunteers at Pluspunt. Pluspunt is a centre for people who need some support. It offers work to people who have been homeless but also to volunteers and entrepreneurs who want to give back. Guus has his own atelier at Pluspunt, where he enjoys helping the Summerschool students create their bicycle sculpture. In his own art, he likes to use recycled materials to create steampunk sculptures. 
“When I first encountered All you can Art, I saw many similarities with the work that I make myself. They also use material found at the beach or the dump. When I met David, he thought my work was interesting and invited me to be a part of the exhibition in the Kunsthal. In the end, I donated the work to IBB and now it’s in Curacao. This year AYCA is working at Pluspunt for the first time. It has become somewhat of an artists’ commune. Usually I work here five days a week but I wouldn’t mind doing seven. It is my passion.”

THINKTANK ‘POSITION AND COLLABORATION’

There is a large turnout. Among the crowd were neighbours, Boijmans employees, members of the neighbourhood committee, Summerschool students, artists and IBB alumni who study at Dutch art academies.

Roxette Capriles brings in a ball that is wrapped in rope. Every person who speaks receives the ball and holds the rope as it goes to the next person. In this way, a web of connections which mirrors the connections made through conversation comes into existence. As the dialogue continues, the rope is pulled tighter and tighter, Roxette mentions how this tension resembles the tension which is present in every collaboration. 

Pris Roos is an artist who lives in the neighbourhood. She shares her experiences at the Groene Hilledijk where she is working on a mural. She would like it to be a permanent location as there are few places in the neighbourhood where people can meet and be creative. A former Summerschool student asks a critical question about what the role of a big institution like the Kunsthal should be when coming into a neighbourhood like this. 

Roxette responds with an anecdote about a neighbour named Sia, who knows a lot about materials. He works at the Groene Hilledijk and helps young people who do not have that knowledge. This is the essence of her Face 2 Face project. She is a mediator, a facilitator. The approach is not one of imposing anything but rather allowing people to meet and share experiences. 

Sia, who has lived in the South for more than 20 years adds that he thinks togetherness is even more important than collaboration. He stresses that despite poverty, people have a real interest in art. “They sells sculptures from India, Surinam and Africa. You can buy them for five euros. It costs a lot of money to go to the Kunsthal but now it’s suddenly very close.”

After the tray of Turkish delight and other sweet snacks had passed everybody, Johan Gielen closes the event. It was yet another interesting and engaged Think Tank. 

‘SEA LEGS’ WITH TIRZO MARTHA

Location: Zorgcentrum Laurens
This year, All you can Art is again returning to the care facility Laurens to restore the sculpture ‘Sea Legs’. Artist Tirzo Martha explains about this project:
 “The collaboration with Laurens fits in seamlessly with IBB’s line of approach. It is a kind of social care. We think it is important to have a partner that is not necessarily part of the art world. On Curaçao we are, for instance, located on the premises of a psychiatric care facility. When we came to Rotterdam, it was understood that we would be looking for a similar organisation to collaborate with.”

How are you interacting with the residents?
 “Our point of departure is that all activities and actions must offer the residents some added value in their daily lives. In this case, they really wanted to do something in the garden. They wanted to plant their own flowers or herbs. But many of them have mobility problems that make it hard for them to plant something in the ground. This is why we made the boat sculpture, in the back of which all kinds of things can be planted at the perfect height for wheelchair users. This gives them a much better incentive to go into the garden.”

How does the sculpture fit into that?
 “The sculpture has the shape of a boat because of the connection with the Port of Rotterdam. And we have realised it together with the residents. For us that is extremely important. We do not want to impose anything on them, and there has to be a sense of necessity. Our starting point is not to make something that is purely decorative. In order for the sculpture to remain in that location for a long period of time, it also has to be sturdy and good quality.”

STUDENTS FROM HONG KONG

For the second year in a row, at the Kunsthal All you can Art welcomed a group of students from Hong Kong who are participating in an exchange with the University of Amsterdam. They are studying Public Policy & Management and together are contributing to the ‘HongKong Monument’ in the open studio. This work refers to the current political situation in Hong Kong, where people have been protesting against China’s controversial extradition law. The students’ work casts a critical eye on the police violence that caused this conflict to escalate. 

SHARON HUSICIC (43, LOCAL RESIDENT) ABOUT ALL YOU CAN ART 

Sharon, a local resident who has been living in South Rotterdam all her life, spends a lot of time painting intuitively. She is currently working on a mural featuring a mermaid at Groene Hilledijk. 
 “The world is moving fast; there is great haste and lots of stress. And I am totally preoccupied with looking for a more beautiful world, so that is what I’m painting. I think it’s really interesting and innovative to work with All you can Art, also because of the social aspect. It is allowed to paint over the murals. When my mermaid is finished, the next day they may have painted all kinds of ships on top of it. I consider this to be some kind of communication between people, an interaction.” 

Would your experience be different if you had painted the mermaid at home? 
“Yes, this is after all a public space. People can see her, they can voice their opinions, criticise it or not. I think this is a very nice place. I come her often, I feel kind of relaxed here and I really like Dik. In this way, the art world is opening up to me, and that is kind of new. I have been painting all my life, but now I keep meeting more and more creative people.”

IN CONVERSATION WITH PRIS ROOS (1984)

A close neighbour of Feyenoord, and an artist
Groene Hilledijk 272

How did you come in contact with AYCA?
“Through Het Gemaal op Zuid (a former pumping station in the south of the city, now used as an exhibition space). I know Alexandre, the curator of Het Gemaaal op Zuid, and he said that I should try it out. After the opening, I realised that it was just around the corner and I walked straight in.”

What sort of art do you enjoy creating?
“I’m currently busy with a wall painting in the basement, and make portraits of migrants. I use various materials, such as pastels, acrylics and wood, and try and fill the whole surface, to put something huge on the wall. I can’t paint on my own walls at home without permission, as I live in rented accommodation. Here, you can do what you like. I thought, ‘This is my chance!’.”

What’s it like to work here, in the south of the city? On Groene Hilledijk, in your neighbourhood?
“Super! I make portraits of people from around here, so to be able to work here myself, to be actually located on this street, is great. It’s really good to be among the people in this way, and have a workspace and atelier at the same time. I literally just step out of the door and here I am.”

If AYCA could have a permanent place here, would you like that too?
“Absolutely! I would hope that artists would be inspired to come and work here. I have an atelier myself in Charlois (a neighbourhood south of the city), where there are many artistic initiatives. Here, there’s actually not so many, except for Het Gemaal op Zuid, the only place I know of. Groene Hilledijk is, in principle, a neighbourhood atelier, where people enjoy the sort of freedom they don’t have at home or in their own surroundings. Many people would like to be creative but they don’t have the space or the materials to achieve this. On Groene Hilledijk, people can just show up and do what they want.”

SUMMER SCHOOL HAS BEGUN!

It’s the fourth time for the Summer School! David Bade has already welcomed the students, and already set the tone for the forthcoming weeks. It’s about learning, and being open for each other and our surroundings. Like ‘All You Can Art’, the Summer School will play out not only in the Kunsthal but also in locations in the south of the city (‘Zuid’), allowing the students more opportunity to search for possibilities in public areas. Tirzo Martha has his own perspective on the school. The way he sees it, the Summer School is more about custom-made guidance than about actual schooling. It’s an investigation, in which you go in search of what you want and what you are able to do.

When everyone introduced themselves, it became apparent how diverse the group is this year. The ‘mix’ includes people from the theatre world, some who are finishing high school or who are preparing for higher education, and students who are learning a trade. Among the mature students are some who have reached pension age. Take Dik Kreuk for example. He took part last year and now forms part of the permanent team. Although he always had an interest in art, he realised for the first time at the Summer School his own capacity to create art. Following his participation at the school, he has kept in touch with many artists and has managed to provide a helping hand for all sorts of projects. This summer, you will most probably find him at the Open Atelier during Kunsthal LIVE ON SUNDAY and at our Groene Hilledijk location.

Follow the progress of the Summer School during the coming weeks on our blog!

See the reportage!

Once again this summer OPEN Rotterdam is covering some important events and meetings. View the festive launch on Saturday 1 June here.

In the second episode, Open Rotterdam will go to the Laurens care facility. They show how important art can be for the elderly.

In the third episode, the projects taking place at the Groene Hilledijk are discussed in more detail.

In the fourth episode we see artist David Bade walking through the Afrikaandermarkt to make portraits of visitors.

In the last episode we see the residents of care facility Laurens making art with IBB-artist Elvis Chen.

We sell reality

Location: Groene Hilledijk 272-274

The team of IBB artists is working every day to bring about new insights and connections between people, art and culture. To this end they work with numerous neighbourhood initiatives, local artists and partners. For instance, in connection with the project ‘We Sell Reality’, the artist Rieneke de Vries examines why commodities often migrate far more easily than people. In her quest for the origin of products, she holds discussions with shopkeepers, using the open workshop in the busy Groene Hilledijk shopping street as her operational basis. The tangible result of this series of interviews will be a special set of tableware.

A SCULPTURE MADE OF BICYCLES

Location: Pluspunt Rotterdam West

Pluspunt is an employment and activation centre for people who need a helping hand. For people who have been homeless, but also for volunteers and entrepreneurs who want to offer their support. David Bade and the Summer School students will be working on location. David explains about the project: 
 “We are planning to make a sculpture out of old bicycles. And there are loads of those around here. There are actually two conditions: it has to become a monumental work, but it also has to be suitable for practical use as a bicycle rack. This was the input I gave the Summer School students for this assignment. Repairing bicycles is a core activity at Pluspunt. From that experience we are working closely together. It is also really great to connect with the people who have gathered in this place and are either using it as a daytime activity facility, or have been referred there by a healthcare institution. It is also very much in keeping with IBB. On Curaçao, for instance, we are located on the premises of a psychiatric care facility. We want to reach out to people for whom life in our society isn’t always easy. And in doing so, we are showing the Summer School students that this is an option as well. Not only can a bicycle become a sculpture, but Pluspunt can also be seen as an innovation within their frame of reference.”
 

Free art on the market

Location: Afrikaanderplein

The artist David Bade has spontaneous encounters with market vendors and visitors to the Afrikaandermarkt. He challenges them to have their portrait taken and makes the first sketches on the spot on “For Sale” boards. The artist Elvis Chen does it on the phone: there is a hotline from Gallery 3 in the Kunsthal to Gemaal op Zuid. Chen makes portraits of the callers on the basis of their own descriptions, and they can collect them during the All you can Art Finissage on Sunday 25 August – if they have not already been to one of the locations to play an active part in All you can Art!

Analog connections

Location: Het Gemaal and the Kunsthal

Now that the artists are spread out over three locations, more creativity is called for to keep the communication going. A nice way of staying in contact is by means of the old-fashioned telephones that hang in Gemaal op Zuid and the Kunsthal. The artists Elvis Chen and Tittel Tattle delight in using them, but more and more visitors pick up the phone in the hope of a reaction from the other end. In this way a little bridge to South Rotterdam is literally created.

Masterclass David Bade & Tirzo Martha

Location: Kunsthal Rotterdam

During this masterclass David Bade and Tirzo Martha went into the methodology of Instituto Buena Bista (IBB) Curaçao and they gave their views on the steps that lie between art education at higher professional education level and the practice of being an artist today. All you can Art and Instituto Buena Bista Curaçao approach art from a human perspective in which art does not just belong to the maker but to everyone. You will find a summary of the Masterclass held on Thursday 6 June here.

Festive Kick-off All you can Art

Location: Het Gemaal op Zuid & Atelier Groene Hilledijk

It was an incredible All you can Art party last Saturday, 1 June, at Het Gemaal op Zuid! A summery reunion with many partners, participants and artists from previous All you can Art (AYCA) editions. With a new and enthusiastic group of Summer School students treating everyone to an advance performance led by the artist Roxette Capriles, and a great speech by the Rotterdam alderman Said Kasmi, who is a staunch supporter of the programme, AYCA was festively launched in Rotterdam-South, in the Feijenoord area. After the kick-off at Het Gemaal op Zuid (the Rotterdam-South Pumping Station), everybody went on to visit the studios on the Groene Hilledijk. David Bade, Tirzo Martha and the Instituto Buena Bista team can’t wait to start working again with the Kunsthal, and with familiar and new partners this summer. It is their goal to give everyone, and we literally mean everyone, an opportunity to participate, make art, learn and discover.