Keith Haring mural granted monument status

[vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” padding_top=”pt-40″ padding_bottom=”custom-padding” custom_padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column width=”2/3″ class=”col-sm-6 column-right”][vc_column_text]Some special news: the mural by Keith Haring at the Foodcenter in Amsterdam-West has been granted monument status. The Amsterdam commission of Heemschut, a heritage association, asked the municipality to declare the building and the mural to be a monument and succeeded.

The building is a design by Nicolaas Lansdorp. The imposing construction is mainly famous for the mural by Keith Haring that was restored last year, under QKunst’s supervision. An international team worked for six weeks on the restoration of Haring’s but one biggest still existing mural in public space in Europe.

Haring painted the mythical animal in 1986, when he had his first solo exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Eight years later the mural disappeared behind a metal façade due to humidity issues in the building. During the rediscovery in 2018 the mural turned out to be in a reasonable condition. Experts established that conservation was necessary to preserve the work for the future. In 2019, QKunst made a conservation plan.

Consortium Marktkwartier (consisting of Developers Ballast Nedam Development and VolkerWessels), the municipality of Amsterdam and the Keith Haring Foundation agreed to share the costs. QKunst was commissioned to supervise the restoration.

A documentary about the restoration is being made. Check out the teaser.

Image newspage: Keith Haring mural, 1986 | Photo: Hanna Hachula. Artwork © Keith Haring[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4438″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″ animation=”zoomIn” animation_delay=”0.2″ class=”col-sm-3 column-left”][vc_column_text]

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Keith Haring mural granted monument status

22/04/21[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” css=”.vc_custom_1545060726449{padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Conference on public art

[vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” padding_top=”pt-40″ padding_bottom=”custom-padding” custom_padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column width=”2/3″ class=”col-sm-6 column-right”][vc_column_text]What is the current state of public art in the Netherlands? What do people working in the field encounter in their daily professional practice? What do commissions look like? Are there still many commissions and what problems do we encounter concerning the realisation of art in public space? These and many more questions will be discussed during the conference Kunst in de openbare ruimte (Art in public space) in which QKunst director Véronique Baar will participate to a roundtable discussion about mediators.

The conference will be organised on 20th January in Utrecht by BK-informatie, in honours of the artists’ trade journal’s 40th anniversary. The journal was created in 1979 to draw broad attention to new art commissions for art in public space.

To give insight into the historical development of art in public space, last March, BK-informatie revealed 100 key artworks in public space. Among them was one of the artworks for the North South metro line, the tulip palepai Jennifer Tee made for Amsterdam Central Station’s metro hall.

The insights collected by BK-informatie by selecting the artworks and the follow-up campaign #watdoetdathier (#whatsthisdoinghere) laid the grounds for the conference. The organisers invited six people to start a discussion on the topic they deal with in their own professional practice. These six people then invite other guests to their table to further explore the matter. Véronique Baar is invited by Liesbeth Jans.

NB: Tickets for the live streaming are still available.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4469″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″ animation=”zoomIn” animation_delay=”0.2″ class=”col-sm-3 column-left”][vc_column_text]

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Conference on public art

01/12/20[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” css=”.vc_custom_1545060726449{padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

New exhibition at SIF Utrecht

[vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” padding_top=”pt-40″ padding_bottom=”custom-padding” custom_padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column width=”2/3″ class=”col-sm-6 column-right”][vc_column_text]In the new exhibition at SIF Utrecht, ‘Van Mens tot mens’ (From Man to man), Elma Čavčić and Choi Wong show work depicting both discord and connection between people. The paintings, objects and collages have themes such as power, war, hope and a sense of community.

In the open workspaces, paintings and ceramic objects by Elma Čavčić (Žepa, Bosnia, 1995) are on display. Her work focuses on the discord among the people of Bosnia and its terrible consequences: the Bosnian civil war. Elma depicts the war through stories her mother told her about when they had to flee from one village to the next. While her paintings appear joyful at first sight, Elma presses us not to forget the war and to stay connected to each other to avoid reproducing such acts of cruelty.

The mutual connection among people is a recurring theme in Choi Wong’s work (Hong Kong, 1981). Her work is on display in the meeting rooms. Choi is fascinated by family photos, that she collects and thoroughly observes, driven by a longing for a world unknown to her. Using threads, she makes connections in the images and takes a closer look at touch and relations. It’s the social interactions that make us feel connected to one another.

QKunst curates an exhibition at the Social Impact Factory Utrecht three times a year, showing work by talented Utrecht-based or -born artists. We always look for a link with themes that matter to the SIF Utrecht-members, like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The current exhibition connects with goal number 10: reducing equality within and among countries, generating more growth for the poor and ending discrimination. ‘Van Mens tot mens’ shows what inequality can lead to and how staying connected to each other can contribute to equality.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4462″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″ animation=”zoomIn” animation_delay=”0.2″ class=”col-sm-3 column-left”][vc_column_text]

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New exhibition at SIF Utrecht

12/11/20[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” css=”.vc_custom_1545060726449{padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Publication Recollecting and Reallocation

[vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” padding_top=”pt-40″ padding_bottom=”custom-padding” custom_padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column width=”2/3″ class=”col-sm-6 column-right”][vc_column_text]In October the bilingual publication Recollecting and Reallocation/ Herzamelen en Herbestemmen was publishedQKunst director Véronique Baar wrote an essay on deaccessioning corporate art collections, explaining how this process is different from deaccessioning museum collections. In this essay, Véronique introduces two tools that were developed by QKunst and that have become essential in our work: the value chart and the LAB.

The value chart offers – as the names says it – an insight in a collection’s values. This includes artistic and financial value, but also historical and social value, as well as representational and relationship value. The value chart shows the accents of a collection and can be used to decide on the best deaccessioning-route. LAB stands for ‘Leidraad Afstoten uit Bedrijfscollecties’ (Guideline for Deaccessioning of Corporate Collections) and is grafted on the LAMO, the ‘Leidraad Afstoting Museale Objecten’ (Dutch Guideline for Deaccessioning of Museum Objects).

The publication Recollecting and Reallocation is the second in the museum series Work In Progress in which experts get a chance to critically discuss a certain theme and explore different angles. Through various essays, the publication sheds a light on the valuing of collections and the ethical side of deaccessioning, several cases are discussed and a number of stakeholders share their thoughts on the matter.

Recollecting and Reallocation was published by the Research Center for Material Culture (RCMC), the flagship institute of the Tropenmuseum (Amsterdam), Museum Volkenkunde (Leiden), the Afrika Museum (Berg en Dal) and the Wereldmuseum (Rotterdam). It has been printed in 2.500 copies and is also digitally available on the website of the RCMC and aforementioned museums.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4483″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″ animation=”zoomIn” animation_delay=”0.2″ class=”col-sm-3 column-left”][vc_column_text]

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Publication Recollection and Reallocation

05/10/20[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” css=”.vc_custom_1545060726449{padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Keith Haring mural restoration has started

[vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” padding_top=”pt-40″ padding_bottom=”custom-padding” custom_padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column width=”2/3″ class=”col-sm-6 column-right”][vc_column_text]The restoration of the mural by Keith Haring on the terrain of the Food Center in Amsterdam-West has started this week. An international team will be working for six weeks on what remains Haring’s one but biggest still existing work in public space in Europe.

The American artist and activist Keith Haring (1958-1990) had his first solo exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 1986. Because he wanted his work to be accessible to all, he roamed the city with young graffiti artists and painted the giant imaginary animal on the wall of the former museum depot of the Stedelijk in one movement, standing on a platform. It was his gift to the people of Amsterdam. Until recently, the building served as a cold store for the Amsterdam Food Center.

Due to humidity issues in the building, the mural disappeared behind a metal façade in 1994. During the rediscovery in 2018 the mural turned out to be in a reasonable condition. Experts established that conservation was necessary to preserve the work for the future.

In 2019, QKunst made a conservation plan. Consortium Marktkwartier (consisting of Developers Ballast Nedam Development and VolkerWessels), the municipality of Amsterdam and the Keith Haring Foundation agreed to share the costs. QKunst was commissioned to supervise the project. In an item by local newsoutlet AT5, restorer Antonio Rava and project manager Véronique Baar tell more about the conservation plan.

Image newspage: Keith Haring mural, 1986 | Photo: Hanna Hachula. Artwork © Keith Haring[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4438″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″ animation=”zoomIn” animation_delay=”0.2″ class=”col-sm-3 column-left”][vc_column_text]

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Keith Haring mural restoration has started

02/09/20[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” css=”.vc_custom_1545060726449{padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

From concept sketch to mural

[vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” padding_top=”pt-40″ padding_bottom=”custom-padding” custom_padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column width=”2/3″ class=”col-sm-6 column-right”][vc_column_text]It’s finished! The mural designed by artist Gino Bud Hoiting for the rear side of the Loods 20-building in Helmond is completed. The mural displays references to two local museums that will soon move into the building. The realisation of the artwork is the final destination in a journey that started last year for the fifteenth anniversary of QKunst.

On that occasion, QKunst decided not to treat with cake but with art. We gave away three concept sketches for a location of your choice. The winning locations were the Loods20-building in the railway area in Helmond; Longstreet in Soweto, Johannesburg; and the Ritakerk (church) in the Amsterdam-Noord area.

In Helmond (Southern Netherlands) Gino Bud Hoiting (Utrecht, 1984) made a design for the 100 meters long wall at the backside of the Van Gend & Loos building in the ‘Spoorzone’ (railway area). Bud Hoiting was inspired by the collections of the EDAH Museum (EDAH was a chain of supermarkets in the area) and the Draaiorgelmuseum (Barrel organ Museum). In the commission, the artist was invited to place these specific stories in the broader context of the workers’ life in Helmond, in the past and the present.

The involved parties were so thrilled with the sketch that they searched and found funding to realise it. The result is a special line drawing in black and white that represents a day in the life of couple from Helmond in the ’30s / ’40s of the last century. The mural can be enjoyed both from the train and the platform.

Image newspage: still from item by newsoutlet Ditisonzewijk.nl/Helmond[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4192″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″ animation=”zoomIn” animation_delay=”0.2″ class=”col-sm-3 column-left”][vc_column_text]

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From concept sketch to mural

09/07/20[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” css=”.vc_custom_1545060726449{padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

SIF Utrecht is open again

[vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” padding_top=”pt-40″ padding_bottom=”custom-padding” custom_padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column width=”2/3″ class=”col-sm-6 column-right”][vc_column_text]Yes! The Social Impact Factory has reopened. We can now every once in a while trade our home offices for our flexible workspace at the heart of Utrecht, where measures have been taken and changes have been made to make sure everyone can work safely.

A new exhibition was recently put together at SIF Utrecht by QKunst team member Mijke Rummens. Oneindig Online (online endlessly) is on view until September. This exhibition showing work by Joyce Overheul and Birgit Vredenburg focuses on the growing digital world: the use of social media and Internet and data storage. How do we deal with that? And what does endless storage look like?

Mijke: ‘Joyce and Birgit’s work is very different: Joyce focuses on the use of social media and Birgit is on the ‘digital archive’. An interesting combination to explore the digital world from different perspectives.’

QKunst curates an exhibition at Social Impact Factory Utrecht three times a year, showing work by talented Utrecht-based or -born artists. The theme for this exhibition was chosen to connect with the opening of the new Utrecht Central Library, a place with an ‘endless’ amount of books, social sharing, knowledge and data. The opening was also planned for mid-March, but has been postponed.

Image newspage: Birgit Vredenburg[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4277″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″ animation=”zoomIn” animation_delay=”0.2″ class=”col-sm-3 column-left”][vc_column_text]

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SIF Utrecht is open again: go see that exhibition!

02/06/20[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” css=”.vc_custom_1545060726449{padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

QKunst on social media

[vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” padding_top=”pt-40″ padding_bottom=”custom-padding” custom_padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column width=”2/3″ class=”col-sm-6 column-right”][vc_column_text]Just like everyone else, TeamQ is staying at home during the Covid19-crisis. Don’t let that fool you, we are still work, be it sitting at (improvised) desks. We finally have time for digital archiving and more of these chores that used to come last due to a lack of time. We adapt, but just like everyone else, we miss our freedom and above all, we miss art. Visiting museums and galleries is currently not an option.

To stay inspired and inspire our followers, we use our Instagram-account to share the exhibitions and art fairs we would have liked to visit but that are temporarily or have preventively closed due to the Covid19 safety measures. Earlier on, we gave our followers a peek into our private art collections.

To conclude, even though we don’t see each other in real life to discuss collection management or commissioned art, we keep it up online and happily invite you to take a look on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4368″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″ animation=”zoomIn” animation_delay=”0.2″ class=”col-sm-3 column-left”][vc_column_text]

News

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QKunst on social media

17/04/20[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” css=”.vc_custom_1545060726449{padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

New exhibition at SIF Utrecht postponed

[vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” padding_top=”pt-40″ padding_bottom=”custom-padding” custom_padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column width=”2/3″ class=”col-sm-6 column-right”][vc_column_text]The digital world keeps growing, in social media use as well as Internet use and so does data storage. How do we deal with the use of social media? And what does the endless storing of data look like? On 18 March, an exhibition about these developments was to open at SIF Utrecht with work from Joyce Overheul and Birgit Vredenburg. Due to the corona-crisis the exhibition has been postponed but in the mean time we would like to tell you a bit more about it.

Joyce Overheul is fascinated by how people act when they find themselves in a situation that is not completely familiar, such as the growing use of social media in daily life for instance. Using various media, she reflects on human behaviour and confronts people with their own acts. In the project ‘Three months in Rogier’s life’ Joyce followed a young man who shared so much about his life on social media that she was able to make a book about it. The project ended with a meeting between the two.

During her a graduation year at the Utrecht School of Arts (HKU), Birgit Vredenburg dived into the world of data and its endless growth. Data that we store on hard disks and tapes will not be readable in a hundred years. To save crucial information for a longer time, we are working towards a new way of saving data: DNA. In the reader ‘Eternal Storage’, Birgit shows her research into all the aspects of eternal data storage. She also made visual translations of the huge amount of data the DNA can reach.

QKunst curates an exhibition at Social Impact Factory Utrecht three times a year, showing work by talented Utrecht-based or -born artists. We always look for a link with themes that matter to the SIF Utrecht-members. The theme for this exhibition was chosen to connect with the opening of the new Utrecht Central Library, which was also planned for mid-March, but has been postponed. Utrecht has chosen not to give the former post office a commercial purpose, but to realise a new space where development, knowledge, culture and meeting are the main goals. A place with an ‘endless’ amount of books, social sharing, knowledge and data.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4277″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″ animation=”zoomIn” animation_delay=”0.2″ class=”col-sm-3 column-left”][vc_column_text]

News

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New exhibition at SIF Utrecht postponed

20/03/20[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” css=”.vc_custom_1545060726449{padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Commissioned art at the Utrecht Library

[vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” padding_top=”pt-40″ padding_bottom=”custom-padding” custom_padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column width=”2/3″ class=”col-sm-6 column-right”][vc_column_text]The Utrecht Central Library is moving from the Oudegracht to the former post office on the Neude-square this March. The monumental building on Utrecht’s most famous square will become the big cultural centre that the city was missing, a meeting place for all the city’s inhabitants. Five local artists have been commissioned to each make a work for the new library. This was an idea of the Utrecht based art fund K.F. Hein Fonds. QKunst-director Véronique Baar is a member of the fund’s art commission since July 2018.

For a long time, the moving of the Central Library to the Neude wasn’t a sure thing, it was simply too expensive. A generous donation of the K.F. Hein Fonds helped realise this dream that many ‘Utrechters’ had. The idea to make the work of local artists an integral part of the new purpose of the building was soon born. The library was enthusiastic and soon so were the other involved parties.

Five artists were selected by an art commission: Maarten Baas, Jan Willem Deiman, Frank Halmans, Daan Spaans and Jop Vissers Vorstenbosch. The five art commissions, financed by several funds, art now being realised and will be revealed during the grand opening of the library on Friday 13 March. Maarten Baas’ work is expected to be ready in May.

The old post office on the Neude is a familiar place for Utrecht’s inhabitants. The main post office was designed by Joseph Crouwel (1885-1962) and opened in 1924. The impressive building with its many decorations is a monument. The transformation from post office to library is in the hands of Zecc Architecten.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4272″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″ animation=”zoomIn” animation_delay=”0.2″ class=”col-sm-3 column-left”][vc_column_text]

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Commissioned art the Utrecht Library

10/01/20[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fluid=”stretch_row_only” css=”.vc_custom_1545060726449{padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]